‘Halo: The Master Chief Collection’ will focus on smaller updates after the launch of ‘Halo Infinite’, 343 Industries has announced.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection (c) 343 Industries/Xbox Game Studios
In a September MCC development update, 343’s Publishing Team Lead Producer Michael Fahrny spoke on the upcoming Season 8 launch for MCC and how they will proceed with updates for the collection after the release of ‘Halo Infinite’ on December 8.
Fahrny revealed that MCC’s Season 8 update will be the last for this year in order to “help alleviate any conflicts that could take away from the studio’s focus on Halo Infinite’s launch”.
He said: “With Halo Infinite’s release now locked for December 8th, it’s safe to say the remainder of the year is going to be a wild one here at the studio.
“While the MCC and Halo Infinite teams are generally separate entities, we do have overlap when it comes to shared areas like services, support, community, and more.
“To that end, it’s important to us that we position MCC’s eighth season for success but also help alleviate any conflicts that could take away from the studio’s focus on Halo Infinite’s launch.
“To that end, Season 8’s release later this Fall will be our last official MCC update of this calendar year.”
Fahrny then noted that after ‘Halo Infinite’s multiplayer is up and running, the studio will cut down on seasonal updates and will focus on smaller MCC updates.
He continued: “As we think about the future, we’ve had a lot of conversations around how to best support MCC once Halo Infinite’s free-to-play multiplayer is up and running.
“We’ve agreed on two key points: One, we have more MCC work to do and support will continue; and two, as a studio it’s not ideal to run and continue shipping seasonal updates for two different multiplayer titles concurrently.
“So, while we very much have more updates coming – including more content, fixes, and features – the manner in which they are delivered is expected to shift.
“Starting next year, we’re targeting pivoting away from our current seasonal model and cadence to instead focus on smaller MCC updates that can land when they’re ready based on development status and studio roadmap alignment.
“These updates will continue to be free and will include the unreleased features and content from this year – as well as a continued effort to improve stability and tackle legacy fixes where possible. We still have a lot of goodness to deliver in 2022.”