Halo: The Master Chief Collection Content Updates (2014-2015)

This page lists all Title Updates released by 343 Industries for Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

November Content Update (General)
Released on November 14, 2014, this Content Update focused on campaign, UI, and some Matchmaking and party issues. Performance focused Matchmaking updates were addressed in another content update the following week.

List of Changes

 * Fixed a variety of issues that caused players within the same Matchmaking party to be placed on different teams. In rare cases, this issue may still occur, and we are investigating additional fixes.
 * Fixed a Matchmaking issue with behind the scenes team skill matching, allowing team skill matching to be more accurate in both ranked and unranked playlists.
 * Fixed an issue where the campaign HUD did not reset from level to level with scoring or time HUD enabled. This will clear out the full visualization of level segments, which was previously not reset.
 * Fixed a variety of issues with campaign leaderboards and scoring HUD, so now when scores are posted, score, kills, time, deaths, and penalties will be reported correctly for new mission leaderboard entries. We are still working on additional fixes for playlist leaderboard entries.
 * Fixed an issue with competitive HUD time split. Now, when players have competitive time HUDs on with a rival set, they will see per-segment split times for whether they are ahead or behind at each segment.

November Content Update (Matchmaking)
Released on November 20, 2014, this Content Update addressed matchmaking performance, UI, gameplay, and title-specific issues. This update was released in response to complaints regarding poor matchmaking times and overall bad multiplayer experiences.

List of Changes
Matchmaking UI Campaign Halo: CE Halo 2 Halo 2: Anniversary
 * Addressed a number of issues that resulted in extended matchmaking times and low matchmaking success rates.
 * Made a number of updates to how matchmaking progress is communicated to the player. With this update, you’ll see better, more frequent and more informative status updates throughout the matchmaking flow – so “Players Found” for example, will be displayed to let players know where they are in the matchmaking process instead of simply wondering if it’s going to connect.
 * The improved matchmaking flow is as follows:
 * Searching
 * Searching for more players
 * Players found
 * Finalizing matchmaking process
 * Connecting session
 * Made an update to ensure that parties stick together when returning from the post-game carnage report
 * Prevented the ability for players “kick” other players from matchmaking games
 * Made an update to ensure that the Roster correctly displays the “searching” UI rather than “My Game Session” while searching for players
 * Removed the possibility to boost ranking through a custom games exploit
 * Made an update to ensure that players cannot get stuck in the matchmaking screen during map voting
 * Made an update to ensure that the “Connecting to your game” message no longer incorrectly displays in the lower right of the screen during gameplay
 * Made an update to the “team creation” phase that allows players to be grouped by team
 * Made an update to prevent players from seeing the “connection failed” dialogue if disconnected during the map voting screen
 * Improved roster / matchmaking lobby stability
 * Made improvements to the accuracy and stability of the “Game Session Details” UI
 * Improved version compatibility
 * Improved emblem and nameplate behavior to ensure that they do not reset to default (especially after game sessions)
 * Corrected career stats that did not update uniformly across different profiles in multiple titles
 * Improved Forge map display names in Theater
 * Corrected various medal inconsistencies across titles
 * Made updates to the attainability of various achievements, including “Goat Roped,” “Monopolized,” “You’re Joking,” and “Devastating.”
 * Improved Halo: CE career stat tracking
 * Resolved scoring and time HUD reset and display issues
 * Made an update to ensure that rival emblems are displayed correctly
 * Improved consistency and reliability of shot registration
 * Improved headshot hitboxes
 * Fixed an issue where respawning players could momentarily appear at their death location
 * Made an update to ensure that the match ends when the entire opposing team quits
 * Improved fall damage consistency (specifically in regards to uneven surfaces)
 * Improved Halo: CE menu and loading screen stability
 * Improved consistency with multikill rewards
 * Made an update to improve post-game carnage report accuracy for Halo: CE FFA games
 * Updated default language settings
 * Made an update to ensure that the team color shown in pre-game lobby matches in-game
 * Improved a variety of networking issues to allow for improved consistency between host and clients in peer to peer matches
 * Improved a variety of networking issues to allow for improved gameplay consistency
 * Made an update to service tag functionality, allowing for service tags to appear for all players
 * Improved the post-game carnage report to correctly display team color
 * Made an update to ensure that the match ends when the entire opposing team quits
 * Improved “original” medal icon functionality in split-screen
 * Improved host migration functionality
 * Corrected “headshot” stat tracking
 * Addressed a crash that occurred with the Scarab skull
 * Addressed art errors that occurred on the opening cinematics for “Uprising” and “High Charity”
 * Made an update to prevent players from gaining achievements in Forge
 * Improved Forge item display names
 * Resolved text overlapping issues
 * Improved split screen stability
 * Made an update to resolve the notorious “-1th” scoreboard text
 * Improved lobby functionality to address players not being able to reconnect to the party leader after completing a match
 * Improved host migration functionality
 * Corrected vehicle and weapon thumbnails in the “Tools of destruction” table in the post-game carnage report
 * Addressed a dedicated server issue that caused gameplay physics issues on Stonetown
 * Improved split-screen party functionality to ensure that players are not directed to a broken lobby screen after completing a game session
 * Improved Forge mode stability
 * Made an update to King of the Hill scoring to prevent multiple hills from counting down at the same time
 * Improved Shrine objective spawn points
 * Improved King of the Hill and Ninjanaut mode stability
 * Addressed an issue where controller vibration could persist during the pause menu
 * Improved Race mode respawn zones

December Content Update (Minor)
Released on December 3, 2014, this Content Update focused specifically on Matchmaking. It sought to improve team balance issues but was not expected to fully resolve uneven teams. This would be addressed in the next update.

List of Changes

 * Made a change to allow for matches to start once minimum player counts are met, allowing for faster matching times.
 * Made an update to resolve issues that caused false matches to be created, which resulted in a variety of matchmaking issues, including slow matchmaking and bad session starts.
 * Streamlined the process for maintaining party continuity through the matchmaking process.
 * Made an update to the high-level matchmaking flow that will reset lobbies after each match. Moving forward, players and party leaders need to press "B" after the post-game-carnage report, and select a playlist for their next match. This flow is consistent with previous Halo titles.
 * Improved user experience through removal of non-actionable error messages. This will allow for a more seamless matchmaking flow with less interruption and confusion.
 * Improved the post-game experience to fix an issue that could result in a player getting sent to another player’s lobby, rather than returning to the matchmaking screen.

December Content Update (Major)
Released on December 7, 2014, this Content Update focused on on matchmaking, parties, custom games, achievements, stability, and more.

List of Changes
Matchmaking and Parties Custom Games Achievements Game-Specific Stability Miscellaneous
 * Made improvements to matchmaking team balance
 * Made an update to improve matchmaking search times and success rates, specifically expediting the “Players Found” and “Connecting Session” search phases
 * Made improvements to prevent a player’s rank from resetting unexpectedly
 * Made an update to resolve an issue that allowed players to be placed into an incorrect lobby after a matchmaking game
 * Made improvements to prevent the party from being disbanded upon returning to lobby
 * Made an update to ensure that players are sorted by team in the “Match Found” screen
 * Resolved an issue where Team Slayer matches in Halo 3 could separate players onto individual teams
 * Resolved an issue where players could be placed into a group of 7 players and unable to find more
 * Made improvements to ensure that the party-leader is prompted to “Bring Party” when leaving a lobby
 * Made an update to ensure that split-screen players cannot be divided onto different teams
 * Made improvements to ensure that clients are not kicked from parties at the end of matchmaking games with a “failed to connect” error
 * Made an update to ensure that Halo 2: Anniversary matches do not continue indefinitely after entire opposing team quits
 * Made an update to ensure that parties are not separated when the party leader navigates through multiple titles
 * Made improvements to prevent manual team selection from getting reset after a Custom Game match
 * Made an update to ensure that the “Make Party Leader” command functions correctly
 * Made an update to ensure that the “Too Close to the Sun” achievement unlocks when prerequisites are met
 * Made an update to ensure that the “Monopolized” achievement unlocks when prerequisites are met
 * Made an update to ensure that the “Devastating” achievement unlocks when prerequisites are met
 * Made an update to ensure that the “You’re Joking” achievement unlocks when prerequisites are met
 * Made improvements to Halo 2: Anniversary objective pickup, specifically in regards to objective “juggling”
 * Made an update to Halo 3’s movement input, specifically to resolve a deadzone issue which affected moving in a straight line
 * Made additional improvements to Halo: CE fall damage scenarios
 * Made an update to resolve a Halo 2 Classic campaign issue where a black screen could overlay the gameplay screen
 * Made a variety of stability improvements across the following areas:
 * Matchmaking
 * Custom Games
 * Halo 4 Campaign
 * Made an update to ensure that clan tags appear in the post-game carnage report for all players
 * Made an update to ensure that players are sorted by team in the post-game carnage report
 * Made an update to ensure that emblems are displayed correctly in the post-game carnage report

December Content Update (Final)
Released on December 15, 2014, this Content Update included improvements for matchmaking, roster, parties, and more.

List of Changes
Matchmaking Roster Parties Custom Games Halo: CE Achievements Stability Improvements Control Schemes Miscellaneous
 * Made improvements to the reliability of Matchmaking parties.
 * Local split-screen players will now always be on the same team in Halo 2 Matchmaking.
 * Made an update to allow players to use Voice Chat during loading screens in Matchmaking.
 * Made an update to ensure that players are not forced into an incorrect party after encountering an issue in Matchmaking.
 * Resolved an issue where the “Winning Team Won” text was shown in the Carnage Report.
 * Made fixes to reduce the amount of time it takes to update the Roster:
 * Players will now be discovered sooner after starting the game.
 * Changes to the roster will be more immediate to better reflect friend activity.
 * Made several improvements to party joining and management.
 * Resolved an issue where players that were in a party could not join another party from the Roster.
 * Made changes to ensure that parties cannot exceed the maximum party size of a playlist.
 * Made an update to ensure that Party Leaders can assign a new Party Leader or Kick a player from their party.
 * Made a change to ensure that teams selections are correctly carried over in Custom Games.
 * Made an update to ensure that player settings do not revert to a previous state after completing a Halo 2 Anniversary Multiplayer match.
 * Made an update to ensure that players do not disconnect after completing a Custom Game.
 * Resolved an issue in Custom Games where parties would disband if some players were playing in Split-Screen.
 * Made a change to ensure that Halo 3 Custom Game variants display correct author information.
 * Made various changes and improvements to Halo: CE multiplayer hit registration.
 * Made an update to ensure that the “Legend Slayer” achievement unlocks when prerequisites are met.
 * The “Pacifist” Achievement will no longer be awarded for resuming “Assault on the Control Room”.
 * Made a variety of stability improvements across the following areas:
 * Matchmaking
 * Custom Games
 * Campaign Playlists
 * Main Menu
 * Updated the Halo 2 “Green Fingers” Button Layout.
 * Updated the Halo 2 Anniversary Multiplayer Recon Button Layout.
 * Made improvements to stat-tracking.
 * Improved language support for Norwegian, Spanish, German and Japanese.

January Content Update
Released on January 19, 2015, this Content Update focused on UI, matchmaking, game-specific multiplayer and campaign, controls, and stability.

List of Changes
Matchmaking General Multiplayer General Campaigns General Menu Control Layouts Stability
 * Improved matchmaking search success rates.
 * Made an update to reduce instances of “Awaiting Privileges” matchmaking errors.
 * Made an update to ensure player counts more reliably match the expected numbers for each playlist.
 * Fixed an issue where player would sometimes appear to be searching in an incorrect “FIND GAME” screen.
 * Added countdown sound effect to the voting timer.
 * Made an update to improve Halo 2: Anniversary network performance, specifically in regards to bandwidth spikes.
 * Made several improvements to party joining through the in-game Roster.
 * Made an update to ensure that the mute icon is visible while in Matchmaking.
 * Fixed an issue in Halo 4 where players could equip the same weapon as their primary and secondary weapons.
 * Made several improvements to stat tracking for Halo: CE, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4.
 * Made changes to Halo 3 and Halo 4 scoring to ensure that players are not penalized for destroying empty vehicles.
 * Lowered the music volume level in multiplayer menus.
 * Fixed an issue where friend emblems in roster would show up as default when exiting a game session.
 * Made updates to UI and menus to improve multiplayer status messaging, such as when a player joins your lobby.
 * Made an update to the Halo 2: Anniversary “Legacy” Stick Layout.
 * Made stability improvements across multiple titles for campaign and multiplayer.

March Content Update
Released on March 3, 2015, this Content Update focused on on matchmaking, party stability, title-specific improvements, and more.

List of Changes
Matchmaking Parties Halo 2 Halo: CE
 * Made a variety of updates to improve matchmaking performance and success rates
 * Improved matchmaking search times/time to match
 * Improved stability throughout the matchmaking process across all titles
 * Improved party stability
 * Made improvements to multiplayer shot registration
 * Improved campaign stability across a variety of levels
 * Addressed stability issues for matchmaking and custom games
 * Fixed issues around resuming H2A Campaign from “remastered” mode
 * Improved medal display consistency
 * Fixed issues regarding aim assist which resulted in the reticle being pushed away from an enemy
 * Improved shot registration consistency between host / client in peer-to-peer custom game matches
 * Resolved a variety of UI inconsistencies, including team color randomization, medals, and in-game scoreboard display

April Content Update
Released on April 21, 2015, this Content Update focused on on ranking, matchmaking penalties, stability, as well as game-specific improvements for each title.

List of Changes
Ranking Quitting and Betrayals Halo: CE Halo 2 Classic Halo 3 Halo 4 Parties Achievements UI, Stability, and Miscellaneous
 * Made a variety of improvements to ranking consistency and penalties.
 * Resolved an issue that could cause a player to rank down excessively, such as dropping multiple levels after a loss.
 * Resolved an issue that caused a player’s rank to appear incorrectly.
 * Reset Rankings in Halo 2: Anniversary playlist and added rankings to additional playlists pending update evaluations.
 * Added new quit and betrayal penalties to matchmaking:
 * In ranked playlists, quitting a match is now treated the same as a loss. Quitting is defined as exiting the game in any fashion. If you quit a match, your ranking will be impacted, and this may result in dropping a level.
 * All quits and betrayals are being tracked automatically, and action is being taken against offending players who commit these offenses more than what is considered normal behavior.
 * Resolved an issue that was causing off-host players to deal more damage than the host in peer-to-peer custom games.
 * Updated Derelict to include the Rocket Launcher when selecting the “Classic” weapon set.
 * Made improvements to vehicle weapon accuracy.
 * Resolved an issue that caused incorrect bullet and grenade collision with an invisible object on the map Derelict.
 * Update the “Boxer” controller layout by switching the “switch grenade” and “throw grenade” buttons.
 * Resolved a hitbox issue where shooting an enemy’s weapon from the front would not cause damage.
 * Corrected the matchmaking Team Ball respawn modifier from “Inheritance” to “None.”
 * Updated Halo 3 Forge to include editing for all game types.
 * Made significant improvements to Halo 3 audio, specifically in regards to weapon fire and sound effects.
 * Made improvements to Halo 3 multiplayer networking stability.
 * Made improvements to Halo 3’s controller “deadzones.”
 * Resolved issues that were causing Halo 3 multiplayer stats to not track correctly.
 * Resolved lighting and shading issues occurring on the “Sandbox” multiplayer map.
 * Resolved an issue where the “Begins with a Single Step” achievement did not unlock correctly.
 * Resolved an issue where the Golf Club object did not appear correctly in Forge.
 * Resolved an issue where Primary Weapons could display in the Secondary Weapon slot after removing the Firepower Tactical Package.
 * Made improvements to voice chat consistency, specifically in team-based matchmaking games.
 * Resolved an issue where a player may not hear another player via voice chat after completing a game.
 * Improved party functionality, specifically in regards to game invites and joinable states.
 * Increased the speed at which the roster populates with Xbox Live friends after completing a game.
 * Resolved an issue where players could get stuck on the “Leaving Matchmaking” screen for longer than usual.
 * Resolved an issue where players were unable to join immediately after becoming Xbox Live friends.
 * Resolved an issue that caused "The Guardians Are Coming" achievement to not unlock correctly.
 * Resolved issues that caused complications with Spartan Ops achievements unlocking.
 * Made a variety of improvements to UI throughout the title, specifically in regards to notification messages and stability.
 * Improved Playlist and Campaign Career Stats tracking for Halo 2, Halo 3 & Halo 4.
 * Made a variety of significant improvements to stability throughout the title.

May Content Update
Released on May 30, 2015, this Content Update added he new multiplayer map “Remnant” to Halo 2: Anniversary, as well as additional game updates.

List of Changes
New Features and Content Ranking Quit and Loss Penalties Halo: CE Halo 2 Classic Halo 3 Halo 4 Parties and Roster Forge Achievements UI, Stability, and Miscellaneous
 * Remnant (Remake of the Halo 2 Classic multiplayer map Relic) is now available for all users
 * 100 New Achievements added for ODST and Remnant.
 * Players can now search for Gamertags and access file share, by selecting their own Gamertag in the Active Roster.
 * Enables DLC addition of Halo 3: ODST campaign (available separately via the Xbox Store).
 * Improved skill matchmaking for parties in ranked playlists
 * Made an updated to ensure that parties are no longer separated onto different teams in ranked playlists
 * Improved rank stability to prevent ranks from incorrectly resetting
 * Quit and loss penalties are now applied immediately in matchmaking
 * Resolved Assault Rifle and Shotgun registration issues
 * Fixed an issue with vehicle audio in split-screen
 * Reduced occurrences of players falling out of map
 * Improved stability while title is in “suspend” mode
 * Improved music playback for Campaign
 * Fixed an issue where playlist scores posted to Leaderboards incorrectly
 * Improved host migration handling in for peer-to-peer custom game matches
 * Added UI support for Halo 3 voice chat in matchmaking
 * Improved Campaign stability
 * Fixed an issue where the scoring HUD would not display in Campaign
 * Fixed an issue where some players could experience a delayed spawn into a matchmade game
 * Fixed an issue where the scoring HUD would not display in Campaign
 * Added support for displaying parties as a group in the roster
 * Improved handling of dedicated servers
 * Team colors are preserved after every match in custom games
 * Fixed a host migration issue for Custom Games
 * Improved handling of player joinability and leader promotions through Active Roster
 * Improved stability of 16 player parties
 * Improved Forge Stability with large number of players on high budget maps
 * Added support for Infection within Halo 3 Forge maps
 * Fixed an issue where “Place at Start” did not function correctly in Halo 3
 * Fixed an issue where controller settings were not respected in Halo 2: Anniversary
 * Improvements to achievement unlocking throughout title
 * Fixed an issue that prevented the Blast Can achievements from unlocking in matchmaking
 * Made improvements to stat tracking for all titles
 * Improved functionality of unlock notifications
 * Improved voice chat functionality throughout all titles
 * Improved PGCR stats/details and stat uploading reliability
 * Fixed issues where local & shared files may not appear under “My Files”
 * Improved Stability of Co-op play in Campaign Playlists
 * UI now sorts achievements, nameplates, and avatars based on what you have unlocked
 * Improved Scoring functionality during Co-Op Campaign sessions
 * Improved Spartan Ops performance
 * Improvements made to mission progression in Campaign Playlists
 * Improved Rival functionality in Campaign Playlists
 * Improved stability for Halo 2: Anniversary map loading in matchmaking
 * Final scoreboard is now displayed during outro loading screen after a match