In the spirit of openness and sharing more information, we want to take some time and discuss MCC flighting and why the Halo: Reach PC “FireFlight”, which was originally planned for July, did not happen yet.
The short answer is that we chose to hold back FireFlight due to severe blocking bugs. While we continue working to address and solve those bugs, the challenges proved insurmountable to release the flight in July. Our goal when preparing for flights is to ensure that the experience hits the necessary quality bar to deliver an effective and successful flight for both Halo Insiders as well as 343 Industries. While we strive to ensure we run our flights on a timely basis, ensuring the effectiveness of the flight must take priority.
However, we want to provide everyone with the long answer, too. Today, we’ll share some insights into how flighting is handled, where development stands with respect to flighting, what work we have left to do, and why (while unfortunate) the decision to delay a flight is made in the best interest of our players and the game. Before we dive into development details, let’s look at what the process of bringing a flight to Halo Insiders looks like.