Halo: The Master Chief Collection patch and beta delayed

Halo: The Master Chief Collection might not debut patch beta tests after all.

343 Industries raised eyebrows recently by announcing it wanted to beta test an upcoming Halo: The Master Chief Collection patch, which was intended to help fix the shooter bundle's still dire matchmaking experience.

Unfortunately, the update itself has been delayed, and for whatever reason 343 decided it might not go through with the beta.

"As this update contains the biggest changes to the Matchmaking system yet, we’ve identified that additional time and testing is required," the developer wrote on Halo Waypoint.

"We are currently evaluating both timing and need for a CU beta with the Xbox One Preview program, as well as the final public release date in February."

Well, that's interesting. Halo: The Master Chief Collection hit Xbox One in November and is still pretty much a mess. Microsoft has offered Xbox Live Gold subscription time as compensation, and 343 has elected to add a new map and the campaign from Halo 3: ODST to the game for free.