Halo Infinite’s developer has refuted claims that distractions caused by an in-development TV show contributed to the game’s delay.
The allegations were made in a report fromThurrottthis week, which pointed to the production ofthe Halo TV series for ShowTimeas “a significant distraction” for 343’s management.
In a statement provided toIGN, a343 Industriesspokesperson described Infinite and the TV show as “completely independent projects” whose development did not impact one another.
“343 Industries has a devoted transmedia team that is working with Showtime on the creation and production of theHaloTV show,” the spokesperson said.
“This group is separate from theHalo Infinitedevelopment team. These are two completely independent projects with dedicated teams and leadership that do not impact one another.”
343 did not comment onThurrott’s other significant allegation, that an overreliance on external outsourcing had also contributed to the Series X’s title’s slip.
Outsourcing is very common for any AAA project as large as Halo, but according to Thurrott’s sources, 343 is creating even more content externally than usual.
“The coordination between the many different companies contributing to Infinite has been rough, at best,” it said.
“One person familiar with the company’s plans indicated that they believed the out-sourcing for Infinite was at a ratio higher than a typical studio undertakes during development which has caused significant headaches for cross-development collaboration.”
Microsoftconfirmed thatHalo Infinite had been delayed into next yearearlier this month.
In a statement published onits website, developer 343 industries said that the decision to delay the game was motivated by “multiple factors” including the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on development.
