Halo Infinite Mid Season Update Now Live With Patch Notes

Halo Infinite’s launch has been storied, if nothing else. Debuting to acclaim for its surprise launch and refined gameplay, it saw a rise to the top of Steam’s concurrent player charts for a decent chunk of weeks. However, issues with the progression system fueled a wave of criticism, and Halo Infinite seems to be losing some momentum. Luckily, a new mid-season update is on the way, and it just may have enough oomph to pull some players back in.

The new update provides a range of fixes for both the singleplayer and multiplayer components of Halo Infinite. Clocking in at 1.3 GB, the new improvements come from Halo Insider feedback and support tickets that have been submitted by the community. First-person animations got some updates to make them look smoother at all framerates, a persistent complaint among the fan base. Audio mixing is also getting some love, with the patch notes specifically citing improvements to sound effects.

One of the biggest Xbox-centric improvements is available for Xbox Series X’s Quick Resume feature, with Halo Infinite now featuring a more reliable reconnection process after suspending Halo Infinite. That, too, has been a persistent issue with Halo Infinite, and Halo: The Master Chief Collection has faced similar issues since it launched. Previously, players would sometimes have to exit Halo Infinite completely to rejoin, which was frustrating.

Finally, there were a few general fixes to Halo Infinite’s campaign mode, such as audio logs playing the correct audio after completing the final campaign mission. The changes aren’t exactly sweeping, but the do provide a healthy number of quality of life improvements to justify seeing what’s changed. Plus, there’s always the promise of new content on the horizon.

And that new content might be debuting in a major way soon. A new leak has indicated that Halo Infinite has 10 maps on the way. While those certainly wouldn’t all drop at once, a combination of new maps and broader changes to Halo Infinite’s lackluster progression system could mark a big turning point for Halo Infinite. That’s not to say that it’s currently doomed, but there has been a pretty noticeable fall off.

The full patch notes read:

INSTALL SIZE

• Update only (all platforms): approximately 1.3 GB or less.

RESOLVED ISSUES

• Many improvements come from Halo Insiders feedback and Halo Support tickets submitted by our community. Thank you for participating and please keep submitting tickets!

GLOBAL

• First-person animations, including reloading and clambering, now appear smoother at all framerates. The following sound effects are louder in the audio mix for both multiplayer and campaign: Enemies throwing grenades The Needler’s supercombine Player Ravager completing its charge Multiple improvements to Quick Resume on Xbox Series X|S consoles including increased reliability of reconnecting to Halo Infinite’s multiplayer and customization services. Players who have purchased Halo Infinite’s campaign digitally should also see less prompts to purchase Campaign after using Quick Resume. Players who did not receive an Achievement after completing its requirements should see it unlock after updating and launching Halo Infinite. Improvements to Dolby Vision High Dynamic Range (HDR) output on Xbox Series X|S consoles. Color accuracy improvements when playing on a PC with an AMD GPU and FreeSync capable monitor(s). If you want to play with HDR enabled, ensure it is enabled HDR in Windows and the AMD Radeon Software/Settings. Stability improvements for Xbox One consoles. Launching Halo Infinite with an out-of-date PC graphics driver will now direct players to download Halo Support’s recommended drivers. PCs with Intel Integrated Graphics hardware may experience less graphical corruptions. Intel Integrated Graphics are below Halo Infinite’s minimum system specifications. Gameplay on this hardware may be functional but is likely not performant.

MULTIPLAYER

• Enemies throwing grenades The Needler’s supercombine Player Ravager completing its charge

• Intel Integrated Graphics are below Halo Infinite’s minimum system specifications. Gameplay on this hardware may be functional but is likely not performant.

• Improved cheat detection and other anti-cheat improvements. Sound effects for receiving damage as well as enemy footsteps and gunfire are now louder in multiplayer’s audio mix. The Combat Sensor’s range has increased from 18 meters to 24 meters in Big Team Battle (BTB). Added new telemetry to help our developers gather more information on shot registration issues. Read the development team’s in-depth analysis of these issues and their plans for future mitigations: Halo Infinite’s Online Experience. After receiving a matchmaking ban, players can select the Play button in any matchmaking playlist to see when their ban will end. This expiration time will be in the MM/DD/YY format and PT time. For more information on Halo Infinite bans and how to submit a ban appeal, see How to Appeal a Ban. The Optimal Polish Initiated armor coating is now available for all players who have submitted a valid code on Halo Waypoint. More information about this promotional offer can be found at OPI’s blog. If you encounter any issues with this promotion, contact amazonhelp@opixboxrewards.com. Players standing on destroyed vehicles will no longer experience stuttering or desyncs. Matchmaking playlists now reflect accurate Estimated Wait times. The Post-Game Carnage Report (PGCR) will now reflect the correct winning team after online matches.

CAMPAIGN

• For more information on Halo Infinite bans and how to submit a ban appeal, see How to Appeal a Ban.

• Improvements to Campaign’s save system to prevent data loss. Interactive items, such as uncollected audio logs and ammo crates, now have their intended sound and visual effects after completing the Campaign’s final mission. The description of Forerunner Artifacts now appears correctly when playing in a language other than English.

KNOWN ISSUES

This update includes two new known issues:

• Local Area Network (LAN) servers cannot be started from the in-game menus. LAN servers can be started on Steam by launching Halo Infinite with the following launch options: -server -console -lan This workaround is currently only available for Steam. This issue only affects starting a LAN server on PC. Joining a LAN server in-game works as expected on all platforms. The Bot Bootcamp matchmaking playlist has an inaccurate Estimated Wait time. Actual wait times may vary but should be much shorter than the listed Estimated Wait.

FURTHER RESOURCES

• LAN servers can be started on Steam by launching Halo Infinite with the following launch options: -server -console -lan This workaround is currently only available for Steam. This issue only affects starting a LAN server on PC. Joining a LAN server in-game works as expected on all platforms.

• If you experience problems with your Xbox console or Game Pass, Xbox Support can help you. If you have problems with your account, Microsoft or Xbox purchases, Microsoft Support can help you. If you have problems with other purchases, please contact the retailer you purchased your game from. For information about in-game purchases and how to redeem codes, see How to get support for an issue with an in-game purchase or code in Halo Infinite. If you experience a problem in Steam that is not an in-game issue, please contact Steam Support. If you missed out on Halo Infinite Technical Previews last summer and want a chance to participate in future flights, sign up for the Halo Insider Program.

Halo Infinite is available now for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.