343 Studios defend 20GB update for Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Frank O’Connor, the head of Halo franchise development, has also defended the decision to release a 20GB update for The Master Chief Collection on launch. Speaking on NeoGAF, he explained that the update was not just a an update for game but rather content that would not fit on a single disc. “That’s not a patch,” said O’Connor. “ It’s content. The game is designed to run as a single, unified product, digital is seamless obviously, but we also wanted disc users to have the same experience, without swapping discs. Since the bulk of it is MP or MP related, the logic is sound. There will ALSO be a TU in there, but that in itself is a tiny fraction of the content.”
The 343 Studios developer also went on to state that he was aware that this was not a perfect solution for those without fast internet speeds or capped bandwidth, saying “We realize that this isn’t ideal for everyone, but it’s the path to the smoothest eventual experience.” According to O’Connor players will be able to play the game without the update as it primarily contains multiplayer content, allowing players to access the campaign modes without having to download the 20GB of data. It’s important to remember that The Master Chief Collection contains the campaigns from Halo: CE, Halo 2, Halo 3 and Halo 4 along with every single multiplayer map from those titles along with several remastered versions of particular maps so it is entirely plausible that the developer struggled to get everything onto one disc.
In other news, Microsoft has also revealed that a documentary looking at the process of remastering Halo 2 will be released in the near future. A statement from the company reads: “Get unprecedented access to the development process as [developer 343 Industries] and their team of partners from around the world bring Halo 2 to the Xbox One, while maintaining and honoring its fabled past.” The Limited Edition version of Halo 2 also contained a fairly in-depth documentary chronicling the development of the game, so let’s hope that this new one will be as insightful.