Xbox Series X launching in November, Halo Infinite delayed into 2021

Well we’re getting closer and closer to the announcement of an actual release date and pricing for next-generation consoles, and today we received some good news and a bit of bad news on the Xbox front.

The bad news, Microsoft has announced that Halo Infinite has been pushed back into 2021 to allow 343 Industries more time to polish up the experience for all the platforms it was scheduled to launch on — including the Xbox Series X.

The good news, Xbox Series X is scheduled to launch in November 2020, though a more specific date, pricing and SKU configuration are still to be announced.

See the official announcement from the Xbox Wire news site below.

Today, we announced updates to Halo Infinite?s launch timing. Our vision at Xbox and 343 Industries has always been to deliver the most ambitious Halo game ever for our fans, while also balancing the team?s well-being.  To do that, we will need some more time to finish the critical work necessary to launch Halo Infinite, which will come in 2021.

We have plenty to keep you busy until Chief arrives: 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. And with brand new console features like hardware-accelerated Direct X raytracing, framerates up to 120 frames per second, faster loading times, and Quick Resume for multiple games, playing will look and feel better, no matter which games you choose to play on day one.

• More than 50 new games planned for this year across generations and optimized for Xbox Series X, including Assassin?s Creed Valhalla, Dirt 5, Gears Tactics, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and Watch Dogs: Legion. With Smart Delivery you only have to buy these games once to play the best versions for your console, across generations.

• New games developed for Xbox Series X and launching with Xbox Game Pass,including exclusives like The Medium, Scorn, Tetris Effect: Connected, and more.

• More than 40 popular games newly optimized to take full advantage of Xbox Series X such as Destiny 2, Forza Horizon 4, Gears 5, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Madden NFL 21, and more.

A shared library of great games through Xbox Game Pass

Hundreds of developers are at work on new games for Xbox Series X that will raise the bar for fidelity, speed and immersion; and the best way to discover new games will be with Xbox Game Pass. Game Pass delivers a curated library of content across console and PC, including all games from Xbox Game Studios the day they launch, for one low monthly price. Beginning September 15^th, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members will also be able to play more than 100 games from the cloud on their Android phone or tablet, enabling them to take their console gaming on the go.  Experiences you expect on Xbox consoles such as your friends list, achievements, controller settings and saved game progress all come with you when you play on mobile.

Play thousands of games across four generations of content

Playing your favorite games and franchises across four generations of Xbox was a key tenet for us in the next generation of console gaming. This commitment means that you will have access to thousands of titles across four generations of content ? from Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

Our back compat team continues to develop new innovations that can be applied to a curated list of titles that will enhance them even further than was possible when they were originally created.  These optimizations include the ability to render titles with increased resolutions up to 4K, delivering new HDR reconstruction techniques to games that were developed years before HDR came into existence, applying anisotropic filtering to improve image quality, and creating ways to increase or double the frame rate of certain titles.

Whether you?ve played for years or have just recently picked up a controller, we can?t wait for you to see and feel the first big step into gaming?s next generation with Xbox Series X this November.