Halo Infinite: Gamebreaking save file corruption bug related to Xbox sign-in

[99humanity]

I was at the end of the second to last mission in the game in Halo Infinite on PC when I quit out of the game. When I continued, I loaded in a 3rd person view with Chief clipping through the floor. And then, back in the main menu, pressing Continue or Load Game will start the countdown timer and nothing happens. My save file now says 0% complete and I can't do anything, all my progress is gone.

At some point during this, I got the Xbox sign-in pop up and I pressed "Let's Go" to log in. DO NOT DO THIS. It's apparently the cause of this issue after looking it up. Apparently the sign-in can pop up if you're already logged in and it corrupts the save. I didn't think anything of it when the login box popped up. If you see that pop up, CLOSE IT and don't log in.

Halo Waypoint thread where several other people on Xbox and PC ran into this issue:

Forum Farewell

<p>Over the years, the ways and places which players engage with each other and with development studios has continued to evolve. Nowadays, there are more platforms and opportunities than ever to participate in communities of all shapes and sizes. For years, these Waypoint forums have served as...

forums.halowaypoint.com

A video someone made explaining this issue:


This double login can apparently happen for several reasons:
- you plugged in a second controller
- your controller disconnected and reconnected
- you switched from wired to bluetooth connection for controller (I think this is what happened to me?)
- you were somehow still logged in on Xbox when playing on PC or vice versa
- you used quick resume on Xbox and you were playing another game with multiple people signed into the same account

This is apparently also causing multiplayer bugs where you spawn in the middle of the floor.

Really hoping there's a fix for this because I'm not starting the whole game over again. But afaik 343 hasn't acknowledged the problem so I'm shit out of luck. Putting this out there as a warning for anyone to close out of the sign in page if it ever pops up in your game. This sucks :(

Again this seems to affect every version of the game, Windows Store, Steam, Xbox

 

[bytesized]

Thanks for the heads up, OP

 

[panda-zebra]

At some point during this, I got the Xbox sign-in pop up and I pressed "Let's Go" to log in. DO NOT DO THIS. It's apparently the cause of this issue after looking it up. Apparently the sign-in can pop up if you're already logged in and it corrupts the save. I didn't think anything of it when the login box popped up. If you see that pop up, CLOSE IT and don't log in.

Click to shrink...

I had this happn to me on Series S. I posted in the xbox 1st party OT 'cause I couldn't find a Halo Infinite Campaign OT, and nobody replied, I thought I was just a one off.

But then I searched online and found lots of PC players with similar issues, all seemingly related to sign-ins.

I have 2 profiles always signed in to my xbox - mine and my son's. I'd been playing on my son's account and resuming no problem, but this time it put up a message that was gone before I could read it... then that was that for my save file. All progress lost. Haven't had the strength to start over, especially knowing it might happen again and my report going ignored on the official forums. I was really looking forward to this game and enjoying playing in the open world at my pace, ignoring the story as much as I can just enjoying being about the map doing stuff. Really fucking meh on the whole thing now... maybe next year I'll work up the urge to give it another go - as long as they fix this problem.

 

[TeenageFBI]

This sounds reproducible so it will probably be addressed. Thanks for the thread, I'll be careful when I start going through the campaign.

 

[99humanity]

I had this happn to me on Series S. I posted in the xbox 1st party OT 'cause I couldn't find a Halo Infinite Campaign OT, and nobody replied, I thought I was just a one off.

But then I searched online and found lots of PC players with similar issues, all seemingly related to sign-ins.

I have 2 profiles always signed in to my xbox - mine and my son's. I'd been playing on my son's account and resuming no problem, but this time it put up a message that was gone before I could read it... then that was that for my save file. All progress lost. Haven't had the strength to start over, especially knowing it might happen again and my report going ignored on the official forums. I was really looking forward to this game and enjoying playing in the open world at my pace, ignoring the story as much as I can just enjoying being about the map doing stuff. Really fucking meh on the whole thing now... maybe next year I'll work up the urge to give it another go - as long as they fix this problem.

Click to shrink...

That sucks! Yeah I wouldn't have even considered the sign-in message as a culprit until reading about it after
Feel it's gonna be a while before getting a fix because 343 hasn't mentioned this in their known issues

 

[Issen]

Thanks for the heads-up OP.

 

[panda-zebra]

Gamerant made an article on this, I don't know them as an outlet but hopefully that kind of thing will help awareness.

Be really careful - apparently on PC, you can end up corrupting your save by simply launching the game and then turning on your controller (something I imagine many people do) - that prompts the "let's go" sign-in when already signed in and the save dies.

 

[Axon]

OP is a real one, thanks for the headsup.

 

[realweirdo]

This game is such a mess on PC. It feels like every time I boot it up I can encounter something new. I'm also hearing that since I'm playing the game through game pass there is a bug that won't free up the space on my SSD after the game in uninstalled.

I just recently got my first gaming PC and the experience has left a bad taste in my mouth, and really exemplified the value of console gaming for me.

 

[Mr.Deadshot]

Waiting on a Steam sale was rarely that easy after the game doesn't start for me anymore anyway.

 

[99humanity]

This game is such a mess on PC. It feels like every time I boot it up I can encounter something new. I'm also hearing that since I'm playing the game through game pass there is a bug that won't free up the space on my SSD after the game in uninstalled.

I just recently got my first gaming PC and the experience has left a bad taste in my mouth, and really exemplified the value of console gaming for me.

Click to shrink...

This bug happens on Xbox too. But PC Gamepass is a disaster nonetheless

 

[CloseTalker]

This happens on Xbox too? That same let's go prompt will show up on screen? I've never seen a prompt like that in a console game

 

[99humanity]

This happens on Xbox too? That same let's go prompt will show up on screen? I've never seen a prompt like that in a console game

Click to shrink...

I don't know if the same prompt appears but yeah, multiple people in the Waypoint thread I linked have the issue on Xbox

edit: also happened to panda-zebra in this thread

 

[jimbosimbo]

Happened to me when I was playing across PC and series X. Luckily only a few hours in but painful nonetheless.

The guy who found the fix and made that YouTube video is a hero. Came across his posts on the "halo" subreddit.

 

[panda-zebra]

This happens on Xbox too? That same let's go prompt will show up on screen? I've never seen a prompt like that in a console game

Click to shrink...

I didn't get a "let's go" pop-up on xbox, but I did get a message pop up that I think it mentioned something about syncing or signing in - it was gone before I could really read it. After that I no longer had a save file on account #2 - the one we'd been playing properly. I had 2 profiles signed in and had played on account #1 a bit on pc and series s, but only past the first mission to unlock the open world.

 

[Arrahant]

This game is such a mess on PC. It feels like every time I boot it up I can encounter something new. I'm also hearing that since I'm playing the game through game pass there is a bug that won't free up the space on my SSD after the game in uninstalled.

I just recently got my first gaming PC and the experience has left a bad taste in my mouth, and really exemplified the value of console gaming for me.

Click to shrink...

Apparently the same issue can pop up in the Xbox version. That HDD space not freeing up issue you mention is a general UWP/Xbox for Windows issue and not specific to Halo Infinite.

 

[Pikelet]

Yep, just got this issue on PC. I was around 5 hours into the campaign and I've lost all my progress, this really sucks. It's always some fucking bullshit with gamepass on PC, why is Microsoft so bad at this?

 

[Super Barrier]

Ughh I had this happen to me. I won't touch the campaign again until this is fixed. On XSS.

 

[CloseTalker]

I didn't get a "let's go" pop-up on xbox, but I did get a message pop up that I think it mentioned something about syncing or signing in - it was gone before I could really read it. After that I no longer had a save file on account #2 - the one we'd been playing properly. I had 2 profiles signed in and had played on account #1 a bit on pc and series s, but only past the first mission to unlock the open world.

Click to shrink...

Wait so how was it triggered on Xbox? Just want to be super clear on what to avoid doing

 

[panda-zebra]

Wait so how was it triggered on Xbox? Just want to be super clear on what to avoid doing

Click to shrink...

OK, when I fire up my xbox, it auto signs in my son's account and then I have to put the 6-button pw in to sign mine in.

Mine is the main account that owns GPU and that I play on normally, but it's always my son's that gets first go on the dash (I dunno how to change this, I normally just hav eto switch over). Me being lazy (and also wanting the option to play separately on PC - so there's the option for co-op at some point when it's a thing) is why I started this game on my son's account - it was the one that launched the game the first time.

I played it fine for a few days, turning off and selecting contine from the menu no problem. I also played my account on PC, just past the first mission, just to have a look - I can continue this game fine on my xbox.

The last time on xbox, when it broke the save on my son;s account, I signed in as normal, launched the game from my his account as I had before, but before I could pick anything in the menu (IIRC) I got a pop-up that I *think* said something about cloud saves, accounts or something - I don't even know if I pressed A or B as I wasn't ready for it even appearing in front of me as I was getting into my seat and not thinking. It did something for a few seconds and went away. So did the save game - when I went to the menu to continue campaign there was nothing there, not a corrupted save game that put me in a broken game like some of the PC players have had - just no save game at all like it was a brand new game.

I might have been signed in to the gp and xbox apps on my phone on my account but I don;t think they were open, I was likely signed in on PC and definitely xbox on my account, but only on xbox on my son's. Nothing else has ever used my son's account bar minecraft on his PC and that was switched off. My son's account, the one I'd been playing properly, was the one that vanished.

Only thing I could suggest is try to avoid being signed in twice anywhere and avoid multiple sign ins on the same device. I'm going to follow this advice myself as I have started over despite not wanting to right away, it just took a few days for the urge to play to out-do the bad feels from losing it.

 

[CloseTalker]

OK, when I fire up my xbox, it auto signs in my son's account and then I have to put the 6-button pw in to sign mine in.

Mine is the main account that owns GPU and that I play on normally, but it's always my son's that gets first go on the dash (I dunno how to change this, I normally just hav eto switch over). Me being lazy (and also wanting the option to play separately on PC - so there's the option for co-op at some point when it's a thing) is why I started this game on my son's account - it was the one that launched the game the first time.

I played it fine for a few days, turning off and selecting contine from the menu no problem. I also played my account on PC, just past the first mission, just to have a look - I can continue this game fine on my xbox.

The last time on xbox, when it broke the save on my son;s account, I signed in as normal, launched the game from my his account as I had before, but before I could pick anything in the menu (IIRC) I got a pop-up that I *think* said something about cloud saves, accounts or something - I don't even know if I pressed A or B as I wasn't ready for it even appearing in front of me as I was getting into my seat and not thinking. It did something for a few seconds and went away. So did the save game - when I went to the menu to continue campaign there was nothing there, not a corrupted save game that put me in a broken game like some of the PC players have had - just no save game at all like it was a brand new game.

I might have been signed in to the gp and xbox apps on my phone on my account but I don;t think they were open, I was likely signed in on PC and definitely xbox on my account, but only on xbox on my son's. Nothing else has ever used my son's account bar minecraft on his PC and that was switched off. My son's account, the one I'd been playing properly, was the one that vanished.

Only thing I could suggest is try to avoid being signed in twice anywhere and avoid multiple sign ins on the same device. I'm going to follow this advice myself as I have started over despite not wanting to right away, it just took a few days for the urge to play to out-do the bad feels from losing it.

Click to shrink...

Thanks for explaining! I don't think I'll encounter any of those circumstances, I just have one Xbox and one account, but I'll keep an eye out anyway.

 

[Milk]

Shiiiit. Thanks for the heads up, very important to know.

 

[Cels]

they will surely fix it prospectively and that's good, but affected players should also get their original uncorrupted saves back, otherwise it's a half-baked fix.

 

[99humanity]

they will surely fix it prospectively and that's good, but affected players should also get their original uncorrupted saves back, otherwise it's a half-baked fix.

Click to shrink...

They haven't even acknowledged it. I have very little hope that they will fix the saves already affected :/

 

[nihilence]

I get scared because on Xbox every other time I try to play it says the fireteam needs all the content to play but I'm solo.

So far okay. Only have some coatings still locked because collected while some how offline.

 

[panda-zebra]

Looks like they have at least acknowledged the issue now, as someone posted they received this reply instead of the usual "start over and complete the first mission, then get back to us" they'd been doing before (which didn't make any sense).

At this time, we don't have a workaround and can't predict when there might be a resolution, but your issue has been logged with our developers. They will use the information you provided during their investigation.

If this issue is resolved in an update, we will notify you. If not, your ticket may remain in an open state until a game update. We will check in with you whenever a game update is released to ensure that your issue is still occurring.

If our developers have a question for you or we discover a workaround, we may reach back out to you with questions or steps for you to try. If you discover a workaround yourself, please feel free to send it back to us! We can share that information with other players encountering the same issue and with our developers for further investigation.

Our developers look at issues which multiple people have reported so if you know others experiencing this issue, ask them to file a ticket.

Thanks,

Halo Agent Yoke

Click to shrink...

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

I'm thinking this might be one of the reasons the campaign co-op was delayed. The way the game handles saves, particularly with quick resume, is not an exact science, so to speak.

 

[JackSwift]

Had challenges for returning 3 flags, capturing 1 flag, and winning a Ranked match. Lucky me, I queued up for a Ranked match and it happens to be CTF. We were winning, I had already scored a couple flags, and have returned multiple flags, just needed to win and I can complete all the challenges in one go. Oh, but I get disconnected right at the end with like 20 seconds left.

 

[Duxxy3]

I'm not really sure which achievements I got because once in a while I'll just get a notification that I got an achievement in Halo Infinite, and I'm not even playing the game.

 

[SunPie]

This just happened to me, really wish I had read this prior. Was playing for the first time on a new controller, think my old one was probably still connected. I wasn't too far in the campaign but boy does restarting it sound terrible.

 

[CloseTalker]

This just happened to me, really wish I had read this prior. Was playing for the first time on a new controller, think my old one was probably still connected. I wasn't too far in the campaign but boy does restarting it sound terrible.

Click to shrink...

You on PC or XSX?

 

[SunPie]

You on PC or XSX?

Click to shrink...

PC

 

[panda-zebra]

Anyone heard of any update on this? The last response I got was this:

Halo Agent Setteseven (Halo Support) Dec 18, 2021, 9:34 PST Hey there, The development team released an update for Halo Infinite Campaign. The update does not include a fix for your issue, but we're following up with you to ensure that the behavior you reported is still occurring as you originally described. Please reply and tell us if you are still experiencing the same issue in the new build. You can learn more about this update by viewing the patch notes here: https://support.halowaypoint.com/hc...06622356-Halo-Infinite-Campaign-Release-Notes If we do not hear from you within 30 days, we'll close this ticket. If you encounter the issue after this ticket has already been closed, please submit a new ticket. Thanks! Halo Agent Setteseven

Click to shrink...

That was a bit of a non-reply, basically "go play the game and see if you lose your save game file again" and if I don't reply they close my ticket. I waited until the 30 days were almost up before replying to see if there was a proper fix and to just make sure it stays open longer.
I went off the idea of starting over 'cause I'd hate to lose progress again and I always have multiple sign-ins and on multiple devices (PC,series S multiple accounts, phone, tablet).

 

[VorpalNonsense]

Any time I open a ticket for an issue they just keep hitting me with the "We updated the game, a fix for your issue was not included but...maybe? Respond immediately or we close this shit." Eventually they win and I just let it close.

 

[panda-zebra]

Any time I open a ticket for an issue they just keep hitting me with the "We updated the game, a fix for your issue was not included but...maybe? Respond immediately or we close this shit." Eventually they win and I just let it close.

Click to shrink...

It does seem like a measure to clear up their outstanding tickets rather than to help anyone out.

At least they have acknowledged there is a problem, even if AFAIK they don't promote that in their outstanding issues. There's been a few of articles in the past month that both reference the posts I've been checking at halowaypoint and this thread:

Halo Infinite glitch erasing save files

A new Halo Infinite glitch erases save files and ruins multiplayer.

www.vg247.com

Some Halo Infinite Players Are Suffering a Save-Wiping Glitch - IGN

A number of Halo Infinite players have reported coming across a save-wiping glitch in the game, affecting both single-player and multiplayer gameplay.

www.ign.com

This Halo Infinite glitch is destroying save data

This is bad news for Halo Infinite fans

www.tomsguide.com

...but it seems it gains no traction because it's not multiplayer where all the real noise is generated and it's seemingly not all that widespread so I imagine low priority. Some of those players on waypoint though, deep into their runs on the toughest difficulties 😬

 

[impiri]

I've been holding out hope that an upcoming patch would make corrupted saves playable again, but that's probably unreasonable. The campaign was fun, but I'm hesitant to start over in case the same issue ruins another run.

Is there any way to make periodic backup saves?

 

[Fair Trial]

This occurred to me today, can't continue the campaign in any way.
STILL no fix by 343?!?
Shame cause i was having fun.
Not gonna start a new game if there's the risk of the bug occurring again.

 

[panda-zebra]

This occurred to me today, can't continue the campaign in any way.
STILL no fix by 343?!?
Shame cause i was having fun.
Not gonna start a new game if there's the risk of the bug occurring again.

Click to shrink...

There was a post on halowaypoint with campaign known issues back in december but this wasn't one they acknowleged then, and it's not been updated since (despite there being some campaign fixes since), so I'm not sure where to look for potential updates for this or other campaign issues.

 

[Fair Trial]

There was a post on halowaypoint with campaign known issues back in december but this wasn't one they acknowleged then, and it's not been updated since (despite there being some campaign fixes since), so I'm not sure where to look for potential updates for this or other campaign issues.

Click to shrink...

I really don't know how 343 can get away with this.
At this point the issue is well known, even IGN wrote about it.
Moreover Infinite,with the new open world structure, has no mission selection like the old Halos, so if you encounter the bug it's game breaking.

 

[hannuraina]

didnt run into this problem on pc with controller but im glad this guy put the video together. the xbox live sign in stuff seems extremely wonky

 

[Judau]

I've yet to put this game in Quick Resume because of this. I'm surprised it hasn't been fixed yet.