Call of Duty: WW2 PC patch delayed by server problems
Better late than busted
About this time every year, everyone huddles around the open fire roasting chestnuts and singing songs, keenly awaiting the arrival of the first patch for this year's new Call of Duty game. But while consoleers awoke on Friday to find a Call of Duty: WW2 patch hanging in the stocking over their TV, PCnauts have gone without. Are we... on the naughty list? Nah mate, turns out the patch is so busted on consoles that Sledgehammer Games took down multiplayer dedicated servers and are holding back its PC release. Bad news if you wanted the balance tweaks the patch brought, good news if you don't want to reach into your stocking and get covered in rotten satsuma.
Sledgehammer explained the console calamity in a blog post on Sunday:
"While our previous Game Update which released early Friday solved several critical needs, unfortunately it also had an adverse effect on server performance. As a result, we moved to P2P (listen) servers. Overall, the game is stable, however we know that P2P brings things like Host Migrations and other issues that make for inconsistent gameplay experiences. Our objective to return to dedicated servers is our highest priority."
I'm happy to skip that on PC. They also mention a separate patch to fix problems with players being disconnected from servers - but that's not on PC yet either.
"Our entire team is working around the clock," Sledgehammer add, which sounds like some sort of hell.
As for PC, Sledgehammer say the the patch is "ready to go, but we believe we need to work through the issues noted above first – many of which also affect PC players." So they'll wait "a bit longer" to make sure it's not busted before bringing it to PC.
The patch is intended to optimise bits, fix problems including several exploits letting people get outside maps, and tweak weapon balance. Buffs are coming to the Bren LMG, Walther Toggle Action Shotgun, and LMG Bipod, while nerfs are dropped on the BAR, STG44, FG42, and Machine Pistol. And not e.g. bring dedicated servers down. Read the patch notes over here.
What's WW2's multiplayer like anyway? See Matthew's multiplayer review for more. Or, for solo folk, John told us wot he thinks of its campaign.