Halo: The Master Chief Collection will be getting a new game mode this week, with fans speculating that the much-anticipated Flood Firefight will be added to the FPS collection.
The official Halo Twitter account (opens in new tab) teased the announcement online, tweeting “Next week, something new is on its way to MCC…” alongside a picture of a UNSC marine facing off against several creatures of the parasitic, zombie-like Flood (thanks, PCGamesN (opens in new tab)).
That’s got many fans speculating that developer 343 Industries is gearing up to release the long-awaited Flood Firefight. The co-op survival mode first appeared in 2009’s Halo 3: ODST and 2010’s Halo Reach, but previously only let players hold off against incoming waves of Covenant soldiers. This new mode would replace the Covenant with the tankier, melee-adept Flood.
Players have been expecting Flood Firefight to appear in MCC since late last year, when 343 briefly tested a beta build of the mode. Its full rollout was delayed so the development team could improve the behavior of enemy AI. Since then, fans have been hotly anticipating its return – and it looks like they won’t have to wait much longer.
Next week, something new is on its way to MCC… 💀👀 pic.twitter.com/GG5JZpYJMvApril 8, 2022
Not Infinite content
The release of Flood Firefight for MCC will be aggravating to some Halo fans disappointed that 343 Industries is adding new content to a game that was first released over ten years ago, rather than the more recently launched Halo Infinite.
The flagship Xbox Series X|S title has come under increasing fire from players for its lack of substantial updates and DLC. Co-op is yet to be added to Halo Infinite, custom map-maker Forge mode won’t be appearing for a while, and staple multiplayer game modes like Infection and Shotty Snipers are far off the horizon.
Halo Infinite’s second season of content, Lone Wolves, will rejuvenate some interest in the game when it drops on May 3. But until then, many Infinite players will feel a little hard done by, and wonder why a ten-year-old Halo game is receiving an exciting new mode instead of the series’ most recent release.
Game development often calls for studios to split the work of developers between titles, ensuring all its currently supported games receive a healthy flow of new content. But that will be little comfort to Infinite fans that are disappointed with the game’s quantity of new material five months after release.
If Flood Firefight proves to be as fun as many excited fans are hoping, we could see players migrate back from Infinite to the Master Chief Collection. That wouldn’t be a great look for the game, which pitches itself as a live service title with a healthy bank of content.