With Microsoft set to finally, maybe, talk about Halo Infinite at E3 this year, fans are understandably eager and excited to learn more about the long-in-development next Halo. One rumour about the game making the rounds is that Halo Infinite will be a "next-gen" game that skips Xbox One.

That's not going to happen, Halo franchise development director Frank O'Connor says. Responding to someone on Twitter who mentioned this rumour, O'Connor said, "I have no idea what leak you're talking about, but Halo Infinite will be released for Xbox One and appropriately spec'd PCs."

I have no idea what leak you're talking about, but Halo Infinite will be released for Xbox One and appropriately spec'd PCs. — Frank O'Connor (@franklez) March 5, 2019

The rumour in question may be based on comments from noted Microsoft insider Brad Sams. He recently said on his YouTube show that Microsoft focused on showing Infinite's engine, SlipSpace, at E3 last year and not the game because the game itself looked ... too good.

"They didn't want to show off any part of the game because it actually looked pretty damn good and they didn't want to make current-gen stuff look bad," Sams said.

In the video, Sams never says Halo Infinite won't be released on Xbox One, but you can imagine people making that connection regardless.

Microsoft is rumoured to announce new Xbox hardware at E3 this year, so that is also likely contributing to the worry about Halo Infinite not coming to the Xbox One hardware on the market today. However, none of the credible reports out there today are suggesting that will happen.

The Xbox One is now considered a "family" of devices. For example, games that play on the mega-powerful Xbox One X also work on the lower-power Xbox One S. Presumably this kind of compatibility between hardware options will continue with the new Xbox hardware set to be revealed at E3 in June. A disc-free Xbox One will be released in May, according to a new report. This kind of compatibility between generations of hardware has been commonplace and generally accepted in the mobile phone market for years, so it seems games are finally catching up.

Halo Infinite will be the first new mainline Halo game since 2015's Halo 5: Guardians. It's rumoured to be a launch title for the new Xbox hardware, and that would be notable given 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved was the only time a Halo game was released as a launch title for new Xbox hardware; in that case it was for the original Xbox. The new Xbox consoles are reportedly scheduled to launch in Fall 2020.

In other news, Sams also reported on his show that Halo: The Master Chief Collection may finally soon be announced for PC. For lots more on all the ongoing Xbox rumours, check out this roundup of all the big news.