Halo: Master Chief Collection: Why Not Two Disks?

There has been great excitement as the Halo: Master Chief Collection nears its launch date, but there is one snag that the game's development director insists is a non-issue: that there will be a 20 GB launch day patch for the game. Why?

For Microsoft, two disks wasn't 'practical' for the Collection, with Halo franchise development director Frank O'Conner stating that the game was "designed to run as a single, unified product... we also wanted disc users to have the same experience, without swapping discs."

Of course, one could easily remember that Halo 4 was released with multiple discs less then two years ago, and there were no problems there. There was no major outcry last generation, as publishers were happy to release games with as many as four different discs, so why should it be a problem now? Logically, there is nothing stopping developers from using a second disc, but there may be an explanation for a patch of this size.

There would be a definite cost in adding another disc, along with the fact that the game recently went gold. The developers could have simply run out of time, and the enormous 20 GB patch could be the result of a looming deadline.

There is also the fact that many users have very low download speeds and caps per month, which was even noted by O'Conner, who said that "I personally have pretty lame internet and I am doing everything via wifi, but my installation and immediate play were all pretty buttery."

This makes it perfectly OK, of course, as Microsoft is not paying for your internet bill. You are.

This is not an entirely new concept either, as day-one patches are repeatedly becoming the norm. Rather then delaying a game for a week or so and potentially jeopardizing millions in lost sales, publishers and developers are beginning to heavily rely on patches in order to finish a game. Patches are indeed a good thing, but seriously, 20 GB? That is more then most games.

Thankfully, players can play the game before the patch is complete, but only for the offline campaigns for Halo 1-4. For those blessed with quick internet speeds, the multiplayer battlefield may be a little empty for a while, as excited players will come home to watch a patch install on their next-generation console.

Halo: Master Chief Collection is in stores November 11th.

Stay tuned to TechRaptor for more updates.