Microsoft Intentionally Delayed The Release of Halo 3: ODST

It's not uncommon for games to be held back in development in order to make way for other big releases, or to further update and fix various problems. However, Halo 3: ODST was mentioned recently on GameTrailers.com's Bonus Round by the Community Director at Bungie, Brian Jarrard, and it seems the game was complete and ready for shipping back in May.

It's apparent that since this is the case, the game's development stage was only a year long and this was made possible due to still using the Halo 3 engine. This comes as a bit of a shame as the new engine currently being used in Halo: Reach isn't featuring at all.

The decision to hold back the release of Halo 3: ODST isn't exactly an odd move in terms of marketing, but it's probably not something that will overly please fans who've had to wait a long time for a game thats been finished for months. That said the game isn't too far off its release on the 22nd of September this year in both North America and Europe.