The Halo Fans Who Paid More Got Locked Out — Microsoft's Launch Meltdown

Halo: Campaign Evolved

Microsoft launched Halo: Campaign Evolved — a remake of the 2001 original Halo: Combat Evolved — at its official release on July 28 (8:00 a.m. local time). Some Asia-Pacific regions, including Korea, along with Japan, get it on July 29. But a string of problems surfaced in the pre-sale period and in server operations ahead of the official launch.

 

[Problems surfaced one after another in the pre-sale and server operations ahead of the official launch. A user unable to connect to Xbox Live

 

The trouble began with the early access period that started on July 23. According to GameY's reporting, the title is sold in a Standard Edition at $49.99, a Premium Edition at $69.99, and a Collector's Edition at $199.99, and buyers of the Premium and Collector's editions — or Game Pass users who paid a $20 upgrade — were granted access up to five days early. The problem was that a significant number of Xbox console and Xbox PC app users who had paid extra could not actually get into the game. Their screens displayed the error message "You're too early." The PlayStation 5 (PS5) version of the same game was reported to be working normally.

The new Halo — the people who paid more got locked out

 

Halo Support said on July 23, through its official channel, that it was "investigating reports that some users who purchased the Premium Edition or the upgrade on Xbox consoles and the Xbox PC app are unable to access the game." Because Halo has long been the flagship IP representing Xbox, the fallout was significant.

The aftershocks came again right before the official launch. On July 27, a large-scale outage hit Xbox services, broadly blocking sign-ins, access to game libraries, the store, and game launches. Microsoft acknowledged the problem through the Xbox status page and social media, noting that "some users are experiencing errors when signing in, checking their game list, and launching games." The outage occurred one day before the official launch of *Halo: Campaign Evolved*.

Recovery was completed, but some users felt it was not something that should have taken 20 hours...

 

Halo: Campaign Evolved was developed by Halo Studios. It adds a new three-mission "Operation: METEORITE" to the original's 10-mission campaign, and features Master Chief and Sergeant Johnson. It can be played on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, Steam, PS5, and cloud, and is included in Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass from day one.