343 to ditch Halo: The Master Chief Collection seasons after Halo Infinite comes out
Passing the torch.
343 plans to ditch Halo: The Master Chief Collection's seasons after Halo Infinite comes out, it's signalled.
Season 8, which launches later this autumn, may prove to be MCC's last season, as 343 moves away from the game's season model to focus on smaller updates "that can land when they're ready based on development status and studio roadmap alignment".
343 insisted these updates will continue to be free and will include the unreleased features and content from this year, and it will make a continued effort to improve stability and tackle legacy fixes where possible. "We still have a lot of goodness to deliver in 2022," 343's publishing team lead producer Michael "Farns" Fahrny said in a post on Halo Waypoint.
It does sound like 343 is readying MCC players for the perhaps inevitable managed decline of support, with Halo Infinite set to kick off with its own seasonal battle pass model in December.
Fahrny acknowledged the impact of Halo Infinite on MCC's ongoing support:
"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," he said.
"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. Suffice it to say that we're going to finish the year on a high note with a jam-packed season that's actually swelled in some regards as pieces once ear-marked for later this year were pulled in to clear the landing zone for Halo Infinite."
Halo: The Master Chief Collection originally released in November 2014 for the Xbox One, then on PC from 2019. After a disastrous launch beset by technical problems, 343 worked to fix the game, and have supported it with significant updates via the popular seasonal model ever since.
343 is working through the details of this change, Fahrny said, and will share those early next year.
"In the meantime, we're focused on finalising Season 8 to ensure we give you an amazing release to cap off the year for MCC."
Meanwhile, 343 did talk about what's in development for MCC beyond Season 8. This includes additional mod support for Halo Reach and Halo 4.