To say that things have not gone smoothly for 343 Industries since the launch of Halo: The Master Chief Collection back in November would be an understatement. Connection problems, missing content and technical issues are just a few of the difficulties that owners of the compilation have had to deal with over the past month. While 343 Industries has been releasing patches seemingly around the clock, the developer has announced that they will be releasing additional content to gamers as an apology.
In a blog post on Halo Waypoint, Bonnie Ross, Head of 343 Industries, outlined their upcoming plans. Starting with next week’s update, the Spartan Ops campaign from Halo 4 will be patched in. As a token of their appreciation, the developer will also be gifting the following goodies to those who have played Halo: The Master Chief Collection online at any time since launch:
- 1 Month of Xbox Live Gold
- Exclusive In-Game Nameplate
- Exclusive In-Game Avatar
Additionally, 343 Industries is also working on two new remasters for The Master Chief Collection. Although no release date has been set, plans are in place to not only fully remaster the single-player campaign from Halo 3: ODST, but also the classic Halo 2 multiplayer map Relic. Relic will be available to all players, while the ODST campaign will only be available to gamers who played the compilation sometime between launch and December 19.
Yes, I know this may be coming from the guy who gave the compilation a passing grade in the first place, but I am happy to see that 343 Industries will be doing something for those who have stuck with the title since launch. This release has been nothing but a debacle, but these sizeable content releases should help improve public perception of the game, at least a little bit.
We will continue to have coverage of the on-going issues regarding Halo: The Master Chief Collection, so stay tuned!