Halo: The Master Chief Collection was first released in 2014 as an extensive collection of remasters for the acclaimed series. It provided visual, audio, multiplayer, and UI updates to the series, while also bringing the majority of the Halo franchise to PC in a later 2019 update. Since then, Halo: The Master Chief Collection has received multiple updates through its seasonal system, with each season accompanied by an assortment of small patches and cosmetic unlocks for Halo’s multiplayer modes.
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Although the tweet from 343 Industries was cryptic, it’s obvious from the included screenshot that the Flood will be the highlight of this content update. No release date was given other than “soon”, so fans are left to speculate on exactly how soon they can expect to see what’s in store. 343 Industries stated later that the update would “invalidate previous Theater films and mid-mission Campaign saves”. Along with being a helpful warning for campaign players, it’s also an indication that the update may impact the campaign in some way.
The Flood are a common enemy type in many Halo games, where players generally need to fight off massive hordes of the aptly named alien parasites. Due to their swarm tactics, it would make sense to include them in “firefight”, a Halo game mode in which players fight off waves of enemies for as long as they can. This game mode generally only featured the Covenant as an enemy, but fans have long hoped for the opportunity to team up against the Flood.
Since Halo: The Master Chief Collection mostly receives updates in the form of cosmetic unlocks for multiplayer each season, it’s significant for 343 Industries to instead bring entirely new game mechanics into the fold. The Flood have always been confined to Halo’s campaign mode, or otherwise don’t appear at all in several Halo titles. If 343’s teaser is indicating that the Flood are to be included in Reach and ODST’s “firefight” game mode, then players will be fighting against the Flood in games where the Flood actually wasn’t featured at all.
While many fans are excited to see new content added to the 8-year-old collection, others have voiced their frustration. Halo Infinite suffered a rocky launch and is still fighting for relevance in the competitive first-person-shooter market, so fans of Halo Infinite understandably would have liked for these efforts to be directed toward Halo Infinite rather than Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S and X.
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