Sean Swidersky · @DeRsKeezY
25th Dec 2018 from TwitLonger
What's Ahead for 2019
It's officially Christmas in 2018. I'm back home in Pennsylvania spending quality time with my beautiful family celebrating the holidays that are upon us. This is also a time for me to recharge for one of the biggest years of my life ahead. As I write this in my old bedroom which has now turned into a guest room with furniture that I've never seen before, I can't help to think about the memories that I experienced in this house over my lifetime. These times flew by in the blink of an eye.
Nevertheless, I realized those memories allowed me to be where I am today. When I try to understand what it was that pushed me through some of the tough times and hard decisions that needed to be made, it was the belief in knowing that there was something special waiting for me ahead. Trust the process they say. I still look back and think... damn what if I would have continued competing? I'll never know what that life would have brought me, but I know I would have done everything in my power to be the best me. Instead.. I'm 2500 miles away from that small town in Pennsylvania living in Seattle, Washington working on a franchise that paved a path for me that I'll forever be grateful for.
H A L O. Halo. Whether you're a fan of the Bungie days or 343 days, I'll tell you I'm thankful that the franchise is still active and bringing joy and excitement to gamers all over the world. At this moment in time, I've had the opportunity over this past year to work on Halo: The Master Chief Collection and help sustain the title since its release in 2014. The launch of the title back in 2014 was very unfortunate. So many answers all of you want to have as even myself wants to have. However, that time is far far behind us and all we can do is focus on the present and what's ahead.
In 2019, the focus will be on continuing to revamp and sustain MCC. This is my number one focus. These titles have impacted the lives of millions of people over the past 15+ years. We're lucky to bring these classics forward on the Xbox One and continue to improve upon them. Community feedback will always play a big factor in driving our prioritization of how we release features as well as updates to the product. As we kick into the new year, IP Masking, Loading Screen/PGCR improvements, Custom Game Browser, XP/Progression, and plenty of more features are on the list for us. We can't make any promises for these features, but we can continue to be transparent with our community to provide the latest on progress and what we're up to. The MCC Insider application will be the home where you can get early access and interact with the latest features we plan to bring forward to the all up title. As an example here, you can get your hands on the new modern aiming controls in the latest version of MCC Insider. This new controller setting will be released in our next build update to MCC in the new year. Stay tuned for more details regarding information on the next build update in the following weeks to come when the team returns from holiday break.
As my eyes slowly begin to get heavy at this hour, I want to thank everyone for the support over the last year on MCC. You have no idea how encouraging and motivating your words are to the team. We're in this together and want to bring the best we can for you. 2019 is about to be one hell of a year for the team at 343 as well as all of you. Positivity, hard work, and not giving up on the goals you've set out to achieve is the best advice I can give you. Let's make this upcoming year one to remember. #Believe
Happy holidays and much love!
-Sean "Dersky" Swidersky