At the E3 2018 video game convention, hosted by Microsoft, game developer 343 Industries announced the development of Halo Infinite, the sixth entry in the popular science-fiction shooter Halo franchise. The sci-fi shooter game was originally intended for release in 2020, but was delayed to this holiday season due to the Coronavirus pandemic. But in a recent interview, when asked if the game would be pushed back again in order to ensure the inclusion of the delayed campaign co-op and Forge features, creative lead Joseph Staten said, “Yeah, I mean we talked about doing that.” To the fans’ disappointment, the game wasn’t mentioned at all during this year’s Gamescom, and it was expected that the game would be postponed a second time. But on the morning of August 25, Tom Warren debunked the rumor of the set back.

Warren, a senior editor for American technology website The Verge, confirmed on his Twitter page that Halo Infinite would be officially released on December 8. Although it was confirmed by Microsoft that the co-op campaign and Forge modes would not be included in the initial release, fans of the franchise are using the release date and the knowledge that there are about three months between each season to estimate when they will be added. Because co-op is a season two feature, fans predicted that it will debut in March of 2022. Players have determined that Forge should make its way into Halo Infinite in June of 2022, judging by the fact that Forge is usually released in the third season.

It’s not surprising that fans are buzzing about the leaked release date of Halo Infinite considering the popularity of the franchise. At least one Halo game can be found on most lists of the best Xbox shooters, as many consider the series the best sci-fi shooter series on Microsoft’s console. The Halo franchise is also one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, with over 81 million copies sold as of February 24. It is expected that this total will significantly increase upon the release of Halo Infinite. Whenever this long-awaited game and its delayed features are released, one thing’s for sure: Halo fans can’t wait for the return of the Spartans, Cortana, and, of course, Master Chief himself.