Although it's also coming to PC and Xbox One, many have viewed 343 Industries first-party release Halo Infinite as a game tied to the launch of the next-gen Xbox Series X console. It was only a few weeks ago Microsoft showcased an extended demo for Halo Infinite as part of the latest Xbox Showcase highlighting Series X titles in development. Long story short, Halo Infinite's release has been delayed to 2021.

With the statement from 343 reading, "We have made the difficult decision to shift our release to 2021 to ensure the team has adequate time to deliver a Halo game experience that meets our vision."

Halo Infinite Development Update pic.twitter.com/TFZvXhRN9f

— Halo (@Halo) August 11, 2020

From 343 studio head Chris Lee he also notes that the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 has been one of the factors that led to the delay, "The decision to shift our release is the result of multiple factors that have contributed to development challenges, including the ongoing COVID-related impacts affecting us all this year."

"I want to acknowledge the hard work from our team at 343 Industries, who have remained committed to making a great game and finding solutions to development challenges," Chris adds, possibly hinting at the demo's mixed reception in terms of visuals and the news that it was running on PC hardware as opposed to an actual Xbox Series X console. "It is not sustainable for the well-being of our team or the overall success of the game to ship it this holiday", he bluntly points out -- confirming that development on Infinite isn't close to being finished.

No doubt we've seen our fair share of delays this year. And it's making us all feel a little bit like Lando on Cloud City hearing about the new plans relating to Solo, the Wookiee and the Princess.

What does Halo's delay mean for the Xbox Series X? Well, hardware it seems is on track for a November release -- as per this new post on the Xbox Wire.

"There will be thousands of games to play, spanning four generations, when Xbox Series X launches globally this November and over 100 optimized for Xbox Series X titles, built to take full advantage of our most powerful console, are planned for this year."

A nice little reminder that the Series X carries over multiple generations of releases, but still -- no big launch title feels a little weird.