Patch for Halo Infinite’s team battle fixes almost nothing

By Otto Kratky January 20, 2022

A hotfix rolled out for Halo Infinite on January 19 with the intention of fixing the game’s malfunctioning big team battle game mode. According to Halo community director Brian Jarrard, the patch accomplished almost nothing, with matchmaking issues still present in the classic multiplayer mode.

Well, damn… today's BTB hotfix does not appear to be the outcome we expected. There are minor improvements, but overall matchmaking issues are still occurring. Thanks to the folks who have been working hard and we're sorry this didn't quite get the job done. Work continues. https://t.co/lKiFibBDtT

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— Brian Jarrard (@ske7ch) January 19, 2022

Halo Infinite‘s iteration of big team battle has been riddled with issues since the game’s launch in December. While it worked without a hitch initially, the game mode has been broken in recent weeks, with players unable to matchmake into a game. The game’s latest hotfix was meant to fix these issues, but ended up accomplishing the bare minimum.

In a post on Halo Waypoint, Jarrard wrote that the hotfix “did not fully resolve the BTB matchmaking problems,” and that 343 Industries “is continuing to investigate and while we believe there may be some minor improvements, matchmaking is still not working as expected.” As an apology for previous issues with big team battle, 343 Industries is giving every player who logs into the game between now and February 16 five XP boots and five challenge swaps.

For Halo Infinite, a full game mode being unplayable is one of many complaints players have. When the game initially launched, players pointed out that the progression system was painfully slow, and that challenges didn’t pay out nearly enough XP to level up in an exciting way. While those complaints have been addressed with a challenge overhaul, the game is still missing other core features.

Halo Infinite is still without two essential Halo game modes: forge and campaign co-op. Both features are planned to launch in 2022 along with the game’s multiplayer seasons. Campaign co-op is slated to arrive with the game’s second season while forge is meant to be added in with the game’s third season.

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