343's Joseph Staten played through the Halo Infinite campaign twice and was "stunned"

Halo Infinite
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Halo Infinite project lead Joseph Staten says he played through the campaign twice in his first week on the job and came away quite impressed.

With the news of Halo Infinite's new Fall 2021 release window - which is roughly a year later than the original release date - you might be wondering which aspects of the game need the extra work. And in a detailed dev update, Staten goes over the sweeping "Art & Graphics Update," developing the live elements, and vague plans for the future. But near the end of the post, Staten gushes about the main campaign, which presumably means it's largely finished from a development standpoint.

"My first week on the job, I played the entire Infinite campaign. Twice. I was, in a word, stunned—in the best possible way—by what the team had done. Infinite is, by far, the most expansive and vertical Halo world, ever. Why did the team do this? Because they understand that wonder and freedom are key to the Halo experience," Staten writes.

Elsewhere in the update, 343 addresses the Craig in the room, explaining that the meme-worthy brute is getting a full makeover before the game launches. "While we and the internet have come to love dear Craig, we know he wasn't his 'best self' back in July," Staten says. "Craig isn't the only model to see improvements though, there have been significant changes to other characters & 3D models as we continue to evolve and polish our content, some of which can be seen in the Spartan and weapon renders being shared today," adds Art Director Neill Harrison.

Have you heard the rumors about Halo Infinite getting a battle royale mode?

Jordan Gerblick

After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.