343 Industries to issue update to Halo: The Master Chief Collection later this week

By Dan Thorp-Lancaster
last updated

After apologizing a couple of weeks ago, the folks over at 343 Industries have issued a small statement today on the progress of fixes for the problems that have been plaguing Halo: The Master Chief Collection since its launch. According to the blog post, the developer is working hard to bring the experience up to player expectations, and plans to release both a content patch as well as server-side fixes later this week to address the game's shortcomings.

In terms of specifics, 343 Industries says:

On the matchmaking front, we have encountered unexpected issues that were not apparent in our internal test environment and that have resulted in a frustrating experience, including long matchmaking times and low session success rates. Within 343 Industries and Xbox, I can assure you that resolving these issues is our #1 priority. We continue to partner with the Xbox platform team to analyze all data to make ongoing server-side adjustments to continually improve the matchmaking experience. We are also preparing additional content updates that will address existing campaign, UI, and other issues to improve the overall experience. With each update we will carefully analyze data to confirm that the improvements we're seeing internally are also happening with fans at home.

Going further, the developer says that it is "trying to be as nimble as possible to put fixes in place."

As noted above, 343 says it has a content patch on track for release later this week that should address a number of issues that players are currently seeing. In addition, there are some server-side tweaks that should help further with matchmaking problems.

How has your experience been with Halo: The Master Chief Collection thus far? Did the last patch improve your experience? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Halo Waypoint

Dan Thorp-Lancaster
Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. 

63 Comments
  • We should get $30 back since we only got half of a game #343exposed
  • We got a full game, some bugs that's all. You still had the entire set of campaigns. I wanna know why twitch keeps saying failed to broadcast! Twitch for Xbox one sucks!
  • My friend and I get disconnected half the time when trying to do campaign in coöp. No problems in other games so it is not our connection. So campaign is even not playable reliably for some.
  • Are you going to promise to never play the online after it is patched? Did you refuse to pay more than $30 for any game without online multiplayer over the years?
  • You two have no sense of humor lol
  • No, you are not funny.
  • Based on your comment history, I'm finding it very hard to believe that you're doing anything other than trolling.
  • I didn't find it funny, and I laugh at inappropriate times. Hope that clears things up for you.
  • No, ​your comment is just needlessly annoying and immature. How old are you?
  • The blog post did say they would give us something for compensation but that they're focusing on fixing the problems first. Curious what it will be.
  • I'd take Cortana ss compensation oh wait I already have her on my Lumia, were good Microsoft take your time and make it right I've got lots of games to occupy my time
  • Others don't. I bought the X1 exclusively for MCC.
  • I wish I could take your copy back and refund the whole damned thing and ban your account and system serial from ever playing it. I really do.
  • I'm still missing achievements that say "done unlocking" but never unlocked
  • I get maybe one game a day.
  • I've never gotten a match started, I've never waited more than 10 minutes though.
  • The last patch did nothing for me and now I have 1.5 GB less to use this month.... Matchmaking still takes too long. Quit after waiting 10 minutes. Guess its forge for me for a while.
  • The patch changed code. It has the same install size of 59.1 GB on my HDD as the day I got it. You aren't out another 1.5 GB.
  • I think he is talking bandwidth not HD.
  • Forge is pretty fun though.
  • Finished the CE campaign and the stats tell me that I have only finished 2 of 10 levels. Also the aiming physics are horrible compared to the original game, especially in vehicles. The scorpion tank, banshees and ghosts were pretty much useless in the campaign.
  • The only thing that's different is graphics mate, you sure you got the right game"
  • Last patch did address hit boxes and aiming...there is some truth to his comments.
  • Really need to fix Checkpoints not saving. It's almost a crap shoot. That and the random black screen.
  • Yeah, I had no problems with saves with the Halo CE campaign, but Halo 2 I've been unable to save at all.
  • I didn't buy the Master Chief Collection for the mp tbh, I bought it for the nostalgic campaign.  To me, 4 games is worth the price tag alone.  Plus, the only multiplayer i'm really interested in is the one for Halo 2, the best MP of all the halo games in my opinion.  It's sad how so many people are giving the collection crap.  Just check out all the 1 star reviews on amazon, just because of multiplayer??  smh.  Amazon is probably the worse place to check for reviews any way.
  • people have different preferences when it comes to buying games.  Some want to play through the games, some want to play the multiplayer especially when its four MP in one game.   The MP put the game on the map and its a travesty 343 let this happen.  
  • Eh I blame Certain Affinity not 343i. Certain Affinity was in charge of MP.
  • 343 is still responsible for the final product.
  • Yep, for me, multiplayer is all I care about.
  • +1
  • Why? They are giving them crap for not delivering about half of the game properly! There may have been unfortunate events for 343i but it's still a product that does not live up to the promises at all! We all payed money for this
  • You're only interested in the campaign while others are only interested in the MP. Do you see the problem now?
  • Honestly the only reason I bought this game was to play halo 1 MP on live. The sad part is, even when these issues are fixed, there won't be a halo 1 only playlist. I think somewhere they claimed if they do add a Halo 1 only playlist, it will only be 2v2. Sad times for wanting to mix nostalgia with new features.
  • people are moving on from the game.  THey shouldnt releasing updates explaining that it fixes issues when it really doesnt.  I've had the same issues post patch that i did pre-patch.  Two nights ago, in 30 minutes, i played one game and it was like 5 on 4 and wasn't able to re-connect.  The next night i played like 3 games in about 30 minutes and never could i stay reconnected to the next match.   343 screwed this up big time...I honestly dont think there will be a perm solution for awhile if ever.  Looks like they bit more than they can chew.  You know its bad when they take out game lists to accomodate and still it doesnt work properly.  
  • Well, some friends of mine and me myself, we had quite a good run last week or so. It still wasn't anywhere near what you could call an optimum but it did better compared to the first time I tried matchmaking with MCC. Dum spiro spero :)
  • So they're supposed to say "we've just released a patch that fixes nothing"? Some people are seeing improvements, so I don't really understand what the problem is with their communication.
  • Just dont release an unfinished game... Looks bad on Xbox because of this.
  • I bought the disc instead of the digital download. I have been trying to watch Halo Nightfall and get into this loop between the game kicking me to the Halo Channel and the Halo Channel telling me I need to buy the game.
  • Did you not receive the code in the game box? Mines worked perfect. I've watched the first 2 episodes of nightfall.
  • I had/have the same issue. Just find it somewhere else online. It's probably on YouTube or Vimeo. I'm sure they'll fix it eventually.
  • It works great for me
  • The last patch seemed to have fixed matchmaking for me. Though it didn't help frame rate. It only effects Halo 2 Anniversary edition, but playing two player, locally, online caused the frame rate to run at 20fps max. Its awful and unplayable. Halo, Halo 2 and Halo 3 all run fine though.
  • Yeah. A friend of mine also said frame rate is shit when playing split-screen But I don't think this will ever change :(
    Started with halo 4.
  • The multiplayer bug doesn't bother me, I bought the game for the amazing campaigns in each halo game.
  • They are not "updates" they are fixes.
  • In the patch I've noticed little to no difference in the online game play
  • Very dissappointing article. The story of Halo MCC is very depressing, but the lengths at which this article goes, or rather doesn't go to speaks volumes. The post came from the nincompoop who co-founded 343 with Frank O'Connor, Bonnie Ross. A longtime Microsoft veteran who's been involved with Microsoft Game Studios since the 1990s, she has managed to destroy the good faith fans once enjoyed and felt towards Halo. Many of the games released since the Halo IP was transferred from Bungie have been laden with microtransactions and near unconscionable DLC cash grabs. This mentality is apropos when looking at business strategy initiated during Balmer's tenure as Microsoft's CEO. But Balmer's gone. So is Don Mattrick. So is Sinofsky. I think I speak for the legions of Halo fans when I say, "I would gladly forego any DLC perks for the immediate resignation of Bonnie Ross." Matter of factly, it's time Frank O'Connor move on as well. And while we're at it, scrap any executive staff over there without actual game development skills. Bungie runs well because their CEO can program games. Naughty Dog, developers of Crash Bandicoot & the Uncharted series, is headed by two programmers. Respawn, makers of Titanfall, runs well because the two cofounders began by creating Call of Duty. Programmers need to be in charge of game development studios. Simple as that. There's your story.
  • Umm
    There were only two games (not counting mobile ones ...) that were released by 343 since bungie left. Halo 4 which was crap and halo ce anniversary which was a remake. Neither of them had micro transactions as far as I remember. Also halo 4 was not only their first game as a new studio but rushed. It originally was planned to come out for the one. Probably some Microsoft manager said they would have to release it for e3.
    End of the story is there are almost no good publishers. Microsoft is one of the least evil in my opinion. But when you look at Ubisoft and EA ...
    Especially EA. they are the worst. They've killed so many IPs because of their unspeakable greed!
    RIP dead space :'(
  • What are you talking about, the only bad company is ubisoft. They are the ones who tried to dumb down the PC version, which was stupid AF.
  • "I think I speak for the legions of Halo fans when I say, "I would gladly forego any DLC perks for the immediate resignation of Bonnie Ross."" No, you speak for yourself.
  • Four games in ONE collection, TWO of them with dual graphics options which you can change into HD instantly. Not to mention the hundreds of mp maps which will all be available soon as expected. How about trying the campaign before mp? Get into the halo lore, its unbelievable. Deal of the year imo.
  • I'm finding games pretty quickly. Patches have definitely improved wait time for me. Having all the halo games in on place is pretty cool. I'm really looking forward to the upcoming halo5 beta as well. Maybe they will extend it a bit as a reward or give us a peak of the campaign.
  • The pat h fixed it for me, I get into games. I just spent the last hour or two playing multiplayer with out an issue. But sometimes ill get disconnected, or a team member gets disconnected. Overall I see the improvement, but it still needs work.
    Needless to say, the game.wont die and in a couple of weeks or a month, it'll be the number one played game on Xbox one.
  • Lost all motivation to play
  • I tweeted the whole crew including Phil Spencer over this debacle. What an embarrassment. My cousin was over last weekend and was mulling getting an XB1 specifically for Halo, being old school like me, but nothing was working. Even the Halo channel is broken so I couldn't show him Nightfall or extra features. Needless to say, I don't see an XB1 in his future. They can also keep their upcoming release of H5. I'll support developers who proper QA/QC thier games.
  • I swear the public is a vile bunch of children. I get it, you get upset when things don't work right, I do too but man...the bitter poison and negativity you spread is nothing short of a pox that alienates me to gaming. Makes you all look less inviting than the population of inmates at the Folsom prison! =/
  • You're right. Consumers expecting to get what they paid for is so unreasonable, especially considering the number of flawed releases continues to balloon.
  • Imagine this happened with a car. imagine you bought that car. Would you be like... yeah, it doesn't run over 20mph and it wont park or reverse but hey guys, its ok, don't make a big buzz about it.?? Its a product we paid for, a product that didn't deliver what it was supposed to, and to top it off.. we dont get ANY kind of compensation for it, wether it be monetary, a "I survived the launch" tag or whatever fans have been posting...
  • 2014 is one filled with incomplete; untested titles...
  • Especially assassins creed unity
  • Good thing... Everyone has different tastes... I for one am having a great time playing through the stories... Starting with easy, and working up... Should take me a long time with casual play. I'm sure by the time I even play multiplayer the bugs will be worked out. In the end, just be thankful we have tech like this to be spoiled with for entertainment Bugs and all. There is always plastic crate basketball with a rock we can be playing ;-)
  • Only a year away from Halo 5. What happened to the days Halo games had 3 year life cycles? By the time they get MCC to 100% it'll be too late.. theyll have to focus on all bugs H5 will have. Also the beta is coming up for H5.. will 343 shift their focus and neglect the MCC issues? Terrible.. just terrible. Posted via the Windows Phone Central App for Android