Halo Infinite is targeting a Holiday 2021 release window and Phil Spencer assures that the devs are committed to it, but there is a reason why there is no date.
Halo Infinite had a big gameplay blowout with a multiplayer reveal along with a cutscene from the main campaign. Both of these are confirmed to launch in Fall 2021. Despite the release window being unchanged from last year, there was no solid date for the game even if some of the new announcements like Forza Horizon 5 had one.
According to Phil Spencer in a recent podcast, there is no risk of a delay, at least by a couple of months, but rather the developers are not sure on a date because they still have to decide and set it within 3-4 weeks window in Holiday 2021. They also have to look at the release date of other big games. They don’t want to announce a date and then end up delaying it for something like a week. That would be considered a failure for them since they had already delayed it by a year.
From what Phil Spencer mentioned in the podcast, it appears that they will be able to get a better idea by this Summer so there is not much time left in a proper release date for Halo Infinite. Regardless, there is not going to be a major risk in the title moving from its planned Holiday 2021 release window.
Phil Spencer was confident in the current leadership at 343 Industries and is happy with the quality of Halo Infinite. It is currently confirmed to release in Fall 2021 for the Xbox One, Xbox Series, and PC. There will be a free-to-play version of the Halo Infinite multiplayer that will be available to play alongside the main campaign launching day one on Xbox Game Pass.
