Gaming: Halo Infinite delayed; Marvel Realm of Champions trailer; Xbox Series X launch details

Just two weeks after Halo Infinite revealed its first gameplay footage, developer 343 Industries has decided to postpone the game's release till next year. The title was originally slated to go on sale during the 2020 holiday season for the Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.  

This is the latest entertainment delay caused by the global coronavirus pandemic, which has seemingly disrupted nearly every major industry in existence. However, the ongoing health crisis was just one of "multiple factors" cited in the official announcement from Studio Head Chris Lee.

"We all know this will be disappointing to many of you and we all share the sentiment," he wrote. "The passion and support the community has shown over the years has been incredible and inspiring. We wanted nothing more than to play our game with the community this holiday. The extra time will let us finish the critical work necessary to deliver the most ambitious Halo game ever at the quality we know our fans expect."

Read Lee's full statement below or head to Microsoft's website:

In terms of plot, Halo Infinite finds the iconic Master Chief "ready to confront the most ruthless foe he’s ever faced," according to the official synopsis. "Begin anew and step inside the armor of humanity’s greatest hero to experience an epic adventure and finally explore the scale of the Halo ring itself."

Mix and match your favorite Marvel characters with the gameplay reveal trailer for Realm of Champions. The real-time multiplayer mobile ARPG allows players to customize their fighters before entering a multitude of different battle arenas inspired by the likes of Captain America, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Thor, and more.

Costume options are extremely numerous, and if you were wondering, the answer is yes — face masks are available. As you'll see in the footage below, the Incredible Hulk (a notorious roar machine) has his mouth covered with a purple bandana. Just because you're big, green, and angry doesn't mean you're exempt from health safety.

Anyway, check it out:

There's even a pretty cool storyline behind the game, which takes place after the assassination of Maestro, an evil version of the Hulk from an alternate future.

Prior to his death, Maestro merged different realities to "construct his own Battleworld and ruled these timelines filled with Gods and Warriors alike," per the release. "With his iron grip no longer holding this world together, Barons from the Marvel-themed Houses like the House of Iron (Iron Man), Spider-Guild (Spider-Man), Patriot Garrison (Captain American), and more have risen to control their lands and turn the tide of war in their favor. As this Secret War begins, it is up to YOU brave Summoner to solve the mysteries of Battleworld and take your true place as a powerful Champion!"

You can pre-register to play and explore the map right here.

While Halo Infinite is delayed, the Xbox Series X is not. In fact, Microsoft confirmed today that its new console will hit shelves in November. The company acknowledged the unfortunate Halo news, but assured players that there will be more than enough content to occupy their time "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," the announcement continues.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Dirt 5, Gears Tactics, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and Watch Dogs: Legion are just some of the planned releases for 2020. Other new titles — like The Medium, Scorn, Tetris Effect: Connected, and more — are planned as exclusives for Xbox Game Pass holders.

Credit: Microsoft

Even existing games (Destiny 2, Forza Horizon 4, Gears 5, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and Madden NFL 21 were all listed) are being "newly-optimized to take full advantage" of the upcoming system.

This backwards compatibility allows for: "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."

In other words, your endless hours of gameplay on the Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One won't have been spent in vain. You won't be skipping a beat.

Microsoft also reaffirmed the hardware's powerful specs: hardware-accelerated Direct X raytracing, frame-rates up to 120 frames per second, faster loading times, and Quick Resume for multiple games.