Greetings! Welcome Back. Glad you’re here. We’ve got a quick update today, but some good stuff inside. Let’s dig in.

We’ve returned from the Halo World Championship, which was a glorious celebration of fine-tuned multiplayer skill. This weekend was not only a historic time for Halo esports, but also a special weekend for me as a fan of competitive Halo. On the finest Halo stage yet, 16 teams from around the globe met in Hollywood to determine which was the best squad in all the world. Between Allegiance’s comeback in the quarterfinals and road to the finals, Epsilon achieving the first top 8 finish at a major North American event, and CLG’s dominance all weekend, the event was one for the history books. Memories were made, champions were crowned, new features were teased, and the HCS Pro League was announced. In short, we are indeed just getting started, and there’s plenty more where that came from. Thank you all for tuning in and making the Halo World Championships the most-watched Halo tournament in history. To catch the finals video on demand, head here.

Over the past few weeks, our teams have been preparing for the Ghosts of Meridian update, keeping an eye on feedback on things like Warzone Assault gameplay, sandbox tuning, region-specific matchmaking (we’d love your feedback in this thread), and more. The MP team continues work on new modes, has recently updated Torque and the Mantis REQ level, and just today, based on feedback, we’ve loosened the parameters within social playlists to make them feel “a bit more social,” and also added some of our favorite community maps to BTB and Grifball. More on that later. Continue reading →

Welcome back, readers. Another Friday has arrived, which means the weekend is here, and we’re one week away from the Halo World Championship, as well as one week closer to the Ghosts of Meridian and plenty more Halo 5 goodness.

Earlier this week, the services team released a series of updates aimed to help Arena players at high skill levels find matches faster, and also to ensure that Onyx players are seeing the appropriate amount of CSR movement after wins and losses. We’re hearing things are working well. Additionally, we’ve been keeping an eye on reports from players around the globe, and working with top players in international regions to determine further improvements that can be made to matchmaking. Keep the feedback coming. Continue reading →

Hello, friends! I hope this week finds you well, and that you’re enjoying the Hammer Storm goodness. We’ve got a light news week, but let’s start by looking ahead. Into the future.

Last week, we gave you a look at what’s to come over the next few months. Contained within these above updates – represented here as diagonal slices of delicious artwork and newly revealed titles – are new multiplayer modes, maps, vehicles, weapons, and REQs, as well as game updates and improvements based on your feedback and requests. We truly are just getting started, and we hope this small look into the future of Halo 5 has you excited for the road ahead. Continue reading →