Bonnie Ross teases Nov 15, 2021 release date

Games Halo Infinite
1

The Tweet

> So proud of the work this team has accomplished and looking forward to sharing more soon. Fall of 2021…hmm, doesn’t someone have an anniversary coming up?

That would be awesome!

side notes: I got my hands a 4K TV for Black Friday, and finally got to watch Infinite in 4K and it honestly looked good IMO. Some critiques I had were the grass, fog, hexapillars, and trees needed to be “upgraded” and what do you know. 343 said in their update that that’s exactly what their are doing to improve the fidelity. IMO the gameplay looked very fun and Halo.

2

> 2533274829432487;1:
> The Tweet
>
> > So proud of the work this team has accomplished and looking forward to sharing more soon. Fall of 2021…hmm, doesn’t someone have an anniversary coming up?
>
> That would be awesome!
>
> side notes: I got my hands a 4K TV for Black Friday, and finally got to watch Infinite in 4K and it honestly looked good IMO. Some critiques I had were the grass, fog, hexapillars, and trees needed to be “upgraded” and what do you know. 343 said in their update that that’s exactly what their are doing to improve the fidelity. IMO the gameplay looked very fun and Halo.

Thanks,that’s what i wanted for some time now.20 year anniversary,it kinda was destined to be so i guess😁

3

I hope not. Late September or early-mid October would be more desirable, in my opinion.

4

At this stage, I don’t think it’s a good idea to be cute about it. If they have a firm release date established, they should fly it from the highest flagpole.

5

> 2535411993815954;3:
> I hope not. Late September or early-mid October would be more desirable, in my opinion.

The longer the time Joseph has his hands on the game’s development, I would not mind it at all.

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> 2533274829432487;5:
> > 2535411993815954;3:
> > I hope not. Late September or early-mid October would be more desirable, in my opinion.
>
> The longer the time Joseph has his hands on the game’s development, I would not mind it at all.

Yup, give them all the time they need. After seeing CyberPunk 2077 on base Xbox and PS4 I’m happy 343i pushed the date back. There’s no guarantee that the older hardware is the issue, but it’s a possibility. I’m happy with November anyway, my birthays in November so I might just treat myself to a new Halo.

7

Man it would be really cool if Infinite launched on H1’s 20 year anniversary especially considering how inspired Infinite is of H1. 343i’s first game was H1 Anniversary too.

8

A date would be nice, but if they are working to make this game seamless, unlike some other games ought there that were rushed by demand… (cough) cyberpunk 2077 (cough), then the wait will be worth it. On that same note, don’t go crazy trying to make it perfect, because you’ll be chasing an impossibility all while we keep twiddling our thumbs anxiously waiting. It’s been a while since we’ve had a new Halo to play, just sayin’ :wink:

9

The 15th November 2021 falls on a Monday, seeing as most (nearly all big releases happen on a Tuesday) I’d go with the 9th November 2021. This would be the 17th anniversary of Halo 2.

I hope I’m wrong and Microsoft and 343i decide to change things up and go with Halo’s 20th anniversary, or would I want it a week earlier :thinking:

10

Whatever date they choose, I just hope they announce in January. My department’s PTO requests are put in by then and I’d really love to take a few days off of work to coincide with the launch. Personally I think Mid-November is they best…it lines up with Halo CE 20th Anniversary, as Fully Skully mentioned above it was the first Halo game 343i worked on and finally, it gives 343i the maximum amount of time to work on it. Plus launching Mid-November puts them one week away from Black Friday shopping, have they’re game fresh in every ones mind for the Holiday Shopping Season.

11

This new release is a push back from this years target date because the game needed more optimizations and more time, ok I get it they were not ready and covid, a let down but understandable. Everything I’ve read excusing this said third quarter next year so that means end of September at the latest. IF she is right that’s the middle of 4th quarter, Literally adding another year from this years target. Honestly I don’t care what cool number it rounds off to and lines up with cause I should be playing it right now so pushing it back even more would be a let down on top of a let down. Give it to us July 1st.

12

Halo: Infinite will not release on the 15th.

Note: The following text has been copy and pasted from my forum posts regarding this topic. They can be found here.

The reason I would suspect November 16th over 15th as the 15th is a Monday. And every Mainline Halo game, with the only exception being Halo: Combat Evolved 2001, released on a Tuesday.

  • Halo: Combat Evolved released Thursday, November 15th, 2001 - Halo 2 released Tuesday, November 9th, 2004 - Halo 3 released Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 - Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary released Tuesday, November 15th, 2011 - Halo 4 released Tuesday, November 6th, 2012 - Halo 2 Anniversary and the MCC released on Tuesday, November 11, 2014 - Halo 5: Guardians released Tuesday, October 27th, 2015The games all released on a Tuesday and Halo: Infinite should be no exception. I think the 15th is not likely.

I will be shocked to see Halo release on any day BUT a Tuesday. I can see it releasing on the 15th. But I wouldn’t bet on it. At least not until later on when more info starts presenting itself. My predictions follow past trends, commonalities in the industry, and a tiny bit of common sense. If I went and checked every Halo, including the side games,

  • Halo Wars released on a Thursday - ODST released on a Tuesday - Reach released on a Tuesday - Spartan Assault released on a Thursday - Spartan Strike released on a Thursday - Halo Wars 2 released on a Tuesday - Fireteam Raven released on a Tuesday
    Every single Halo game ever released was released on a Tuesday or Thursday. Never a Monday. I will eat my words if Halo releases on the 15th. It goes against every release to date. I don’t see it. I know it would be awesome. But I don’t believe it.

If we were to read the Tweet as it is, she could technically be talking about ANY of the Halo games’ anniversary. I know it most likely refers to Halo: Combat Evolved, but it can refer to any of them. It also could reference Bungie’s 30th anniversary. This will be May 2021. It says nothing too specific and it is very vague.

Here are my predictions:

September has 3 possible dates.

  • September 14th - September 21st - September 28thThe likeliest of these is September 14th.

October has 3 possible dates.

  • October 12th - October 19th - October 26thThe likeliest of these is October 19th.

November has 4 possible dates.

  • November 9th - November 15th - November 16th - November 23rdThe likeliest of these is November 16th.

Another thing to point out is it said “Fall 2021 release.” Not a “Holiday 2021 release.” We can assume this means before November 2021.

Note: The rest of this thread post will be new material not found in the thread linked above

There is very little reason other than it’s Halo’s 20th Anniversary that Infinite will release on the 15th of November. There are plenty of other reasons to believe it should launch much earlier than that.

Let’s say Bonnie Ross is teasing an Anniversary release. But remove Halo: Combat Evolved having its 20th anniversary and say it is a normal anniversary. Now let’s see which Halo games are having their anniversaries on a Tuesday or Thursday in 2021:

Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 (Reach’s 11th Anniversary)
Tuesday, November 9th, 2021 (Halo 2’s 17th Anniversary)
Thursday, November 11th, 2021 (Halo: MCC and Halo 2’s 7th Anniversary)

Of these, Halo MCC is having it’s 7th anniversary on the 11th. (117) and could easily be a likely candidate.

November 9th is a likely candidate for Halo 2’s 17th (close to 117) anniversary.

September 14th is likely specifically because it satisfies several of the arguments I make and people claiming this Tweet makes.

  • It would be an anniversary release about a game that takes place on a planet we may be returning to in Halo: Infinite - It releases in the fall far enough away from a Holiday to be called a “Fall 2021 release” instead of a “Holiday 2021 release.” - It isn’t a major anniversary. So it won’t overshadow something as important as Halo: Combat Evolved’s 20th anniversary. Giving 343 and/or Bungie and Microsoft/Xbox a great chance to acknowledge their beginnings with a big party without focusing on the future of Halo: Infinite - Halo: Infinite will not be interfering with Halo: Combat Evolved in The MCC with a possible big in-game event or big XP boost or a season completely based on Combat Evolved.
    I expect Combat Evolved and Halo: Infinite to have very different days. Infinite should release much earlier than Halo: Combat Evolved’s 20th anniversary simply because Halo: Combat Evolved’s anniversary is too important and big to be overshadowed by something like Halo: Infinite.
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> 2535428050480675;11:
> This new release is a push back from this years target date because the game needed more optimizations and more time, ok I get it they were not ready and covid, a let down but understandable. Everything I’ve read excusing this said third quarter next year so that means end of September at the latest. IF she is right that’s the middle of 4th quarter, Literally adding another year from this years target. Honestly I don’t care what cool number it rounds off to and lines up with cause I should be playing it right now so pushing it back even more would be a let down on top of a let down. Give it to us July 1st.

You’re assuming that Bonnie is using a January to December metric, when businesses usually work on the fiscal calendar of April to March which would put Oct, Nov & Dec in the third quarter.

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> 2533274862181038;4:
> At this stage, I don’t think it’s a good idea to be cute about it. If they have a firm release date established, they should fly it from the highest flagpole.

My thoughts for sure. I mean wasnt infinite supposed to have been released already? Lol

15

November 15th, 2021. Among other reasons, the 20 year anniversary of CE is a marketing layup for Microsoft and 343. The promotional campaign they can create based upon that date alone is huge. Infinite is supposed to be a “spiritual reboot” of the franchise. The signs point to it releasing on the two-decade birthday of the game that started it all.

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> 2533274815938300;14:
> > 2533274862181038;4:
> > At this stage, I don’t think it’s a good idea to be cute about it. If they have a firm release date established, they should fly it from the highest flagpole.
>
> My thoughts for sure. I mean wasnt infinite supposed to have been released already? Lol

The reason they don’t want to set a hard release date this early is exactly because it was supposed to have launched by now. No need to set expectations before they are absolutely sure of that the game is ready to launch given the troubled development the game has had.

17

> 2535432806702036;12:
> Halo: Infinite will not release on the 15th.

If Infinite doesn’t release Nov 15th I will send you a Monster Double XP code. But since you are so sure it won’t, if it does in fact release Nov 15th you send me an armor coating code!

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> 2592250499819446;6:
> > 2533274829432487;5:
> > > 2535411993815954;3:
> > > I hope not. Late September or early-mid October would be more desirable, in my opinion.
> >
> > The longer the time Joseph has his hands on the game’s development, I would not mind it at all.
>
> Yup, give them all the time they need. After seeing CyberPunk 2077 on base Xbox and PS4 I’m happy 343i pushed the date back. There’s no guarantee that the older hardware is the issue, but it’s a possibility. I’m happy with November anyway, my birthays in November so I might just treat myself to a new Halo.

They had a year in total of delays too. All up 8 years. That is a ridiculous amount of time.

Meanwhile Ubisoft develops AC: Valhalla in 4 years and the game is very good…

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> 2533274829432487;17:
> > 2535432806702036;12:
> > Halo: Infinite will not release on the 15th.
>
> If Infinite doesn’t release Nov 15th I will send you a Monster Double XP code. But since you are so sure it won’t, if it does in fact release Nov 15th you send me an armor coating code!

I don’t have an armor coating code. If I did, I’d take those odds.

20

> 2533274925473364;18:
> > 2592250499819446;6:
> > > 2533274829432487;5:
> > > > 2535411993815954;3:
> > > > I hope not. Late September or early-mid October would be more desirable, in my opinion.
> > >
> > > The longer the time Joseph has his hands on the game’s development, I would not mind it at all.
> >
> > Yup, give them all the time they need. After seeing CyberPunk 2077 on base Xbox and PS4 I’m happy 343i pushed the date back. There’s no guarantee that the older hardware is the issue, but it’s a possibility. I’m happy with November anyway, my birthays in November so I might just treat myself to a new Halo.
>
> They had a year in total of delays too. All up 8 years. That is a ridiculous amount of time.
>
> Meanwhile Ubisoft develops AC: Valhalla in 4 years and the game is very good…

Not really. Just like other games Cyberpunk was in consultation first. Pondsmith started consulting in 2012 if I recall correctly, but the game only went into pre-production with a team of about 50 members in 2016. I remember that because I read they were finishing the DLC for Witcher 3 called Blood and Wine first. It was after Witcher 3 before they started upgrading the Red Engine for Cyberpunk. The game was not in development for eight years, more like 3 and a bit.

Same with Halo. Developers are revealing games too soon with misleading digital trailers that set an unrealistic level of expectation. Players like me who followed the development path of Cyberpunk would happily of waited another 6 months to a year. Same happened with Halo, they revealed Halo Infinite while still recruiting staff and working on the SlipSpace engine. Another example of showing what you have not started yet, and team members leaving etc.

Valhalla is good, but it’s also not perfect, it has the least amount of meaningful side missions, it’s padded with garbage that sends you all over the place on fetch quests, and the screen tearing at launch on Series X was not acceptable. Difference is, Ubisoft have been making Assassins Creed for years with only minor changes to each game and scale of the world.

Both 343i and CDPR are out of their comfort zone. 343i are taking Halo to a new place, and Cyberpunk was CDPR’s first game as an FPS / RPG game with guns, that does not excuse the state of the games or development, but it’s an example why Halo and Cyberpunk’s development is different from Ubisoft where you have practically the same game every year or two.

I’m still saying Halo Infinite will release on the anniversary though.