343 Industries will be releasing a major update to Halo Infinite in a few days, so the studio hasn’t given up on the game, but has stuck with it in the hopes that it will be a success in time.

After Halo Infinite launched, 343 Industries heard the feedback loud and clear about the game’s online experience: desync (some players seeing others in a place they weren’t), being shot around corners, and so on. They released numerous updates to the previous model, but they did not have the impact that players expected and deserved. After realizing this, the team decided to shift gears and pursue a fundamental change to the underlying network model.

In December, they gave a first look at it when it debuted in Firefight: King of the Hill and featured in the Combat Workshop. It was great for the studio to see such a positive response from the community online, in their polls, and on Halo Support, but they knew it needed some polishing before it could be rolled out more broadly. They are confident that this updated model will result in a better and more consistent multiplayer experience. Next week, Easy Anti-Cheat will also arrive in Halo Infinite. It’s a tool that monitors players’ game files while they play Halo Infinite to ensure the integrity of each match and combat cheating. With the March update, its detection and enforcement capabilities will be enhanced, greatly improving the game’s overall security and ability to respond to cheaters.

The March update also brings Firefight Custom. This is a “blank” Firefight mode that retains the high-level structure of Firefight: King of the Hill (sets, lives, skulls, scoring, custom game options), but removes all the logic related to the hills. In other words, this is Firefight: King of the Hill without the King of the Hill. Mode scripters will have full control over what constitutes a win or loss of a point, whether teams earn skulls, which spawners are triggered and when, and whether players can earn more lives. The developers wanted forgers to spend less time and budget scripting the basic features of the mode and more time on the logic that supports their ideal experience.

The Squad Battle playlist has also been updated, several weapons have been rebalanced, and some long-standing bugs have been fixed with the update, which arrives on March 19 for Xbox Series, Xbox One, and PC.

Source: WCCFTech, Halo Waypoint