Halo Infinite will soon receive a patch to tackle the Big Team Battle (BTB) matchmaking issues that have affected the game since its launch, while a following major update is scheduled for mid-February to target cheating and other player issues.
Outlined in a blog post on Halo Waypoint, a fix for the BTB matchmaking issues, which have prevented players and larger groups from successfully connecting to the 12v12 matches, is currently in hand. The post says the development team has identified a fix for the issue that’s still undergoing testing.
No release date for the hotfix was given, although the post mentions it will be rolled out as soon as possible while ensuring it doesn’t have any other unintended impacts on the game.
“It won’t be this week, but we hope it’s not too much further out and we’ll share an update as soon as we have line of sight on a release date (once we clear ‘cert’ [certification] we are then ready to ship),” the post states.
Following the patch, a further update is planned for mid-February, which will address instances of cheating and other issues raised by the community. We can expect more details about that update closer to the time. The developers again emphasize they’re trying to include as many fixes as possible in the February update without undermining existing parts of the game.
Analysis: a necessary fix
Halo Infinite’s BTB matchmaking has been wonky since the game launched last year. While the game mode has always been playable, large parties of players trying to connect to the 12-person-a-side battles are often met with error screens, spontaneous disconnections, or looping loading screens that last forever. Not exactly a smooth experience.
It’s been a persistent source of disappointment for those that are excited to hop into the chaos of a large Halo deathmatch with their buddies. Often, you’ll have better luck ditching your friends entirely, and can quite quickly make it into a BTB game if you're searching solo, but that somewhat ruins the magic.
This matchmaking fix will be welcome news for much of the game’s community. While many players would have liked to have seen a patch released before the holiday season, a complete fix that tidies up the issue without breaking other segments of the game will be well worth the wait. Game development can’t be rushed.
Although only several days into January, it’s not been a quiet year for Halo Infinite. Last week, its time-limited Fracture: Tenrai multiplayer event returned, introducing several improvements to its progression system in response to fan feedback.
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