343 Industries has thanked Halo Infinite fans for their patience during a year in which the studio struggled to deliver several highly anticipated features for the game.
In a blog post, 343 community writer Alex Wakeford said the company hopes today’s launch of the game’s major Winter Update will mark the start of a brighter period for Halo Infinite and the studio alike.
Among other features (see the full patch notes), today’s update finally introduces campaign co-op, the Forge open beta, and Mission Replay, all of which were previously delayed on several occasions.
Winter Update Launch Trailer | Halo Infinite
“For now, the last thing we want to say is thank you for your support over the past year,” Wakeford wrote. “We know it certainly hasn’t been the smoothest or quickest ride, but with the Winter Update we have an opportunity to show our thanks for the community’s dedication and feedback which serves as the north star guiding us to evolve the player experience of Halo Infinite.
“The Winter Update marks a major step forward for our game and studio, but this is just the first step of that evolution. The team is actively working on key player experience priorities across the game to address areas of feedback, and we are targeting another game update before the end of this year.
“Your support is greatly appreciated, and we can’t wait to turn this corner with you all in 2023 as we look to shorter seasons, a more regular stream of content, and bigger things to come.”
Halo Infinite’s third season, ‘Echoes Within’, is scheduled to launch in March 2023 and run until June.
And prolific Texas-based support studio Certain Affinity announced in September that it’s leading development on “something big and new for the franchise”.
Microsoft restructured 343 Industries’ leadership team in September after studio head Bonnie Ross left after 15 years in charge. 343’s head of production, Pierre Hintze, was named as her replacement.