Halo: The Master Chief Collection has released a new update that fixes common bugs and makes a big improvement to the classic version of Halo 2's multiplayer. This is the first update for Halo: The Master Chief Collection since July of last year.

The Master Chief Collection's July update added plenty of new features by introducing Escalation Slayer and new forge content to Halo 3, a Firefight custom game browser, new custom game settings, and much more. Following the major patch, the now ten-year-old game had not received a new update for almost seven months, until now.

The Master Chief Collection's new update massively improves Halo 2's multiplayer by refining hit registration and projectile speed, two issues that had affected the MCC version of the classic game for many years. As for bug fixes, the update fixes the issue of a player's chosen video background resetting when relaunching The Master Chief Collection, another prevalent issue that was affecting many users. Other bug fixes include improved grenade functionality for Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST keyboard-and-mouse users and multiplayer squads no longer becoming stuck after a squad leader leaves the lobby. Additionally, Halo 3's Phantom Hunter achievement should now properly unlock and Cortana's narrative sequences during the Arrival mission should now work as intended.

The new update also introduces some improvements to The Master Chief Collection's modding tools by making scripts in Halo: Combat Evolved maps work for the host and all client players during an online match. Also, a crash that occurred when using the Sapien Structure Painter Tool in Halo 2 Anniversary's Multiplayer Editing Kit should no longer happen. The new update comes in at 1.6 GB on consoles, 1.3 GB on the Microsoft Store App or Xbox PC app, and 300 MB on Steam. 343 Industries did not mention when fans can expect the next patch for The Master Chief Collection, but fans probably shouldn't hold their breath.

A leak from December showed that The Master Chief Collection's developers received a letter thanking them for having "finished the fight" with the game's development. This seemed to suggest that 343's work on the game had mostly concluded, which was also made evident by the long gap in updates between July 2023 and now. It's possible that The Master Chief Collection won't receive major new content for some time, or ever.

Halo Infinite was recently rumored to be one of the Xbox games going cross-platform in the future, which would seem to suggest that The Master Chief Collection might make the jump as well. However, Xbox's flagship franchise going multiplatform would be quite the surprise, and newer leaks make no mention of Halo joining other Xbox exclusives in releasing for PlayStation and Switch.

Posted: Feb 19, 2024 10:31 pm
Related Forum: Xbox Forum

Source: https://gamerant.com/halo-the-master-chief-collection-february-2024-update/