Earlier today, 343 Industries announced that Halo Infinite is being delayed into 2021, thus will no longer be a launch title for the Xbox Series X. Immediately following this announcement, Microsoft announced that the system is coming in November. Which was implied by the “holiday 2020” window the console has had for months now, but Microsoft decided to add a bit of clarity by saying “November,” specifically. But stopped short of anything that resembled an actual date.
The announcement came from a post on the Xbox Wire, where Microsoft expressed that while Halo Infinite might be delayed, there is still plenty to play on the Xbox Series X when it launches on an undetermined day three months from now. How much will it cost when reach that mystery date on the eleventh month of the year of our lord 2020? Who can say? Not us, because Microsoft has yet to reveal that information to the world.
“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,” said Xbox Wire Editor-in-Chief Will Tuttle at the end of the blog post.
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Even without an actual date to go alongside the month, Microsoft has now officially revealed more information on the launch of the Xbox Series X than Sony has about the PlayStation 5. The system is slated to come out sometime in the same “holiday 2020” window, but there’s no word on whether or not that means November or any of the other like, three months that could reasonably be considered in that window. Neither company has confirmed a price for their respective consoles yet, with the PlayStation 5’s reportedly being a major point of contention within Sony.
In the meantime, Microsoft has been giving periodic updates on the Xbox Series X with monthly presentations showing off games and features. The last one in July focused specifically on Microsoft’s first-party studios, as well as exclusive deals, whether timed or permanent, the company had worked out with other developers. Prior to that, Xbox showcased third-party games, including the world premiere of gameplay footage of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla running on the new hardware. And by gameplay, we mean panning over vistas while running on an Xbox Series X.
Along with playing new games, the Xbox Series X is keeping the brand’s backwards compatibility going, with older games getting some technical buffs using the new system’s more powerful innards, including higher frame rates so they can run more smoothly, hypothetically improving games that might have had some glaring technical flaws when they officially launched on old systems like the original Xbox or Xbox 360. This won’t be a universal thing for all games, with improvements like this being made on a case-by-case basis.
