Halo Infinite is finally out in its entirety with the recent release of the single-player campaign following last month’s surprise launch of the free-to-play multiplayer component. Overall, fans have received both halves of the franchise’s long-awaited followup warmly, but that’s not to say it’s without problems. And it looks like they’re going to have to wait a while more before one of Halo Infinite’s more annoying issues is resolved.
The classic Big Team Battle mode lets players take a break from the more focused firefights of Halo Infinite’s other modes with more chaotic, larger-scale engagements. However, this past week has seen the emergence of problems with Big Team Battle’s matchmaking, which has been hitting a growing number of players trying to get into the 12v12 playlist with matchmaking errors. Adding insult to injury, players have also reported encountering an infinite loading screen trying to queue into a match.
It’s a pretty serious issue, and while 343 Industries has already fixed a number of Halo Infinite’s problems, it said it’ll be a few weeks before it can deal with this one. In a forum post on Halo Waypoint, the developer confirmed that it’s aware of the problem and working on a fix which is planned to go live sometime in January. That means players are going to have to put up with the matchmaking issues for the next few weeks and throughout the remainder of the holiday season, unfortunately.
343 cited multiple factors attributing to the wait. First and foremost, it said the problem is “complex,” and the steps it’s taken so far to mitigate it, including temporarily reducing match sizes to 10v10 and disabling the ability to join in-progress matches, haven’t been effective. Plus, with the holidays coming up, the developer said that while fixing the matchmaking is a top priority, it’s crucial to “ensure the team has adequate time to recharge after a tough year.”
For the time being, 343 Industries suggested that solo players should have a much greater chance of successfully queueing into a Big Team Battle match, as it seems larger teams increase the likelihood of someone failing to load in. That’s not to say solo players won’t encounter matchmaking errors, and 343 suggested they force quit the game and restart if they end up getting a constant string of them.
If it’s any consolation to players frustrated with the situation, not every technical issue in the game at the moment is as problematic as this one. In fact, one player discovered a glitch that makes it possible to play Halo Infinite’s campaign with co-op. While it prevents certain parts of the game from functioning properly, it still gives fans of the missing feature a way to experience the campaign together until 343 adds it officially.
Halo Infinite is available for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Halo Waypoint
