Halo: The Master Chief Collection is one of Xbox One's most appealing exclusives this year, and its November 11 launch is drawing near.
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The game is available for pre-download now, but taking advantage of the feature will unfortunately not save you from waiting on release day. 343 will be implementing a 20 GB day-one patch for The Master Chief Collection, making a launch download inevitable even if you purchase the physical version or pre-download the title.
"You'll be able to start playing Campaign and more as the content is installing, with some features and multiplayer content being added via the update," Ayoub stated on Halo Waypoint. "Yes, the update is large, but we weren't about to cut corners to save disc space."
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Ayoub went on to apologize, stating that he won't pretend a patch like this is not irritating to players. Fans tend to dislike these types of updates, and some feel unfairly treated by the need to add more content than could fit on the disc on launch day. The update is mostly aimed at the multiplayer component of the game, as franchise director Frank O'Connor explained when he took to NeoGAF to calm fans' worries.
"That's not a patch. 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. We realize that this isn't ideal for everyone, but it's the path to the smoothest eventual experience."
"If fixes were required for Campaign, they would be very small, but that's not the case. All four campaigns will run directly from the disc without the content update. As will some custom game features. Again, the bulk of the CU is MP and MP related."
