343 Apologizes For ‘Halo: Master Chief Collection’ Issues, Xbox One Fixes Incoming [Update]
The launch of Halo: The Master Chief Collection for the Xbox One has been beset with problems from the start. Developer 343 Industries Executive Producer Dan Ayoub penned a letter to the community Wednesday, apologizing for the issues and to detail some of the fixes that are on their way.
Players have experienced issues with matchmaking since the moment Halo: The Master Chief Collection was launched. An update was deployed to the game’s servers on Tuesday that alleviated some of the troubles, but there were still significant portions of players who could not connect with others online. Ayoub revealed that more patches are coming to Halo today and over the weekend in an attempt to solve these issues.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) morning PST, we plan to roll out a number of updates to help improve matchmaking. More details: http://t.co/GV9NVEbmZ0
— Halo (@Halo) November 12, 2014
“From everyone at 343 Industries, we are truly sorry and feel your frustration. You deserve better and we are working day and night to find solutions as quickly as possible, with our first priority focused on matchmaking improvements,” Ayoub wrote on Halo Waypoint.
These improvements will come with a “number of server updates” deployed Wednesday morning (Pacific Time), with another planned for the weekend to “address a number of other community priorities.” One of those “community priorities” mentioned is for an issue where Achievements are not unlocking for players.
“[W]e realize this just makes it all feel a bit worse,” Ayoub said apologetically of the Achievement issue.
The server updates will appear automatically on player’s ends with no need to download an update to the Xbox One console.
Update: The first updates have been deployed by 343 Industries.
We have deployed a number of server updates to help improve matchmaking. These updates should expedite search times and allow you to find matches faster and easier. We are actively monitoring data for wait times and will continue to modify as necessary.Additionally, we are monitoring all non-matchmaking feedback, and still targeting another release for this weekend. Please continue to use the support forums to report and discuss issues. We will continue to work until issues are resolved, and thank you for your continued patience. Please stay tuned to this thread for regular updates.
Update 2: I can confirm that whatever patch was put on the Halo: The Master Chief Collection does not appear to have done much good. I finally was able to try the game out Wednesday evening and was stuck searching for other players in matchmaking for all playlists.
Original Story Continued: Not mentioned by Ayoub are issues that players have reported with incorrect matchmaking when they can find a game. Sometimes players are being placed in a lobby by themselves, sometimes teams are unbalanced, and sometimes parties are split apart instead of being allowed to play together. Presumably, these will be fixed as well.
“We’re committed to improving things as fast as possible so you can have the Halo experience you’ve been waiting for,” the producer continued.
“Your feedback has been helpful for us in isolating issues, so please keep the input coming. We thank you for your continued patience and understanding while we work through these challenges. The development team at 343 Industries worked insanely hard to create ‘Halo: The Master Chief Collection’ for you, and we won’t stop until it’s worthy of your passion for our franchise.”
How have the issues with Halo: The Master Chief Collection affected your experience thus far? Tell us your story in the comments below.
[Images via Halo Waypoint]
