The gap between Halo Infinite and Xbox's next AAA game in 2022 was a "disaster situation" says Phil Spencer

Halo Infinite
(Image credit: Microsoft/343 Industries)

Xbox boss Phil Spencer says the gap between AAA releases back in 2022 was a "disaster situation" for the team. 

As revealed via the Xbox FTC leaks, Phil Spencer called 2022 a "disaster situation" for the company due to the huge 16-month gap between Halo Infinite and the next AAA release. The email, which was sent on May 7, 2022, included other Xbox executives such as Matt Booty, Tim Stuart, Sarah Bond, Jerret West, and more. 

"With the news that Starfield is going to miss Holiday [...], still not a ton of clarity on the launch date of Redfall and Stalker 2 [...], I feel we are in a huge hole with our games lineup both for platform marketing/differentiation and our Gamepass content," Spencer's email reads. "We keep talking about a bit AAA a quarter in the service and it feels like we are likely to go through a gap of almost 16 months between big exclusive launches on our platform. Halo Infinite being our last on December 8, 2021."

The email continues: "This is really a disaster situation for us given all we've invested in content across studios at our [Gamepass] content fund. We need to learn from this and build a plan forward." Below this, Spencer then suggests ways to prevent this kind of thing from happening again, including "better" portfolio planning on Xbox's games, "with real honesty on dates," and potentially delaying launches if needed. "We have to all understand that the situation we are in now is a failure of our planning and production execution," the email ends.

This is just one of the things we've learned recently about the inner workings of Xbox. Some of the other interesting things we've found out so far are that Phil Spencer wanted to buy Nintendo and Valve, what the Xbox boss really thinks of the PS5, and that a new Xbox Series X console, codenamed 'Brooklin,' is currently in development. 

Take a look at our upcoming Xbox Series X games list to find out what else is on the horizon. 

Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at 12DOVE before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.  

Read more
The Doom Slayer standing in front of fire in the FPS game, Doom: The Dark Ages.
Xbox CEO Phil Spencer doesn't "want to see every game turn into some big live service," says Game Pass allows for more "games that have a beginning, middle and end"
Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S
Despite "a rocky couple of years," analyst reckons Xbox's console war is "actually looking pretty bright" - "If you look at the PlayStation sales chart, you see a lot of Microsoft on there"
Xbox Game Pass showing Avowed, Indiana Jones, Black Ops 6 and more
With Indiana Jones and Forza Horizon 5 ports, Phil Spencer isn't "trying to move" Nintendo Switch and PS5 players "over to Xbox anymore"
Avowed screenshot showing the lush fantasy realm called The Living Lands, with the protagonist looking at a lush cave powered by magical energy
With the release of Avowed just days away, Xbox is set to kick off its most important year of the current generation
Last Spartan Standing
With Concord in the rearview, Halo Infinite dev is glad it's still kicking "in a climate where games can be shut down with little notice"
6 years after Rare's survival game was announced, Xbox boss Phil Spencer says the long wait is because "we've been able to give those teams time in what they're doing"
Latest in Games
Overwatch 2
My hopes for an Overwatch anime or Diablo horror movie are going strong as Blizzard president points out "we are Blizzard Entertainment, and not simply Blizzard Games"
Pokemon Go players brace for the worst as Niantic is sold off for $3.5 billion: "This game is entering its death knell"
Stamp PSP
A 16-year-old pitch for a newly discovered first-party PSP game has me mourning the death of PlayStation's Japan Studio all over again
Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor Neil Newbon says he "got rid of" agents who deliberately kept him away from video game gigs: "They just didn't want me to do it"
Mass Effect
Jennifer Hale says she didn't see a single line as Mass Effect's Commander Shepard until it was time to record: "It was all cold reading on the spot"
Baldur's Gate 3 screenshot of a boss turned to gold surrounded by blood
5,000 gold, 2,500 hours, and one priceless scroll: Baldur's Gate 3 player cooks up a "Midas run" by turning the RPG's bosses into solid gold trophies, because "why not"
Latest in News
Overwatch 2
My hopes for an Overwatch anime or Diablo horror movie are going strong as Blizzard president points out "we are Blizzard Entertainment, and not simply Blizzard Games"
The New Thunderbolts leaping into action
Marvel's New Thunderbolts* comic steals the MCU's asterisk, and the reason why is just as big of a mystery
Pokemon Go players brace for the worst as Niantic is sold off for $3.5 billion: "This game is entering its death knell"
Stamp PSP
A 16-year-old pitch for a newly discovered first-party PSP game has me mourning the death of PlayStation's Japan Studio all over again
Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor Neil Newbon says he "got rid of" agents who deliberately kept him away from video game gigs: "They just didn't want me to do it"
Mass Effect
Jennifer Hale says she didn't see a single line as Mass Effect's Commander Shepard until it was time to record: "It was all cold reading on the spot"