Known bugs: what's fixed, what still happens, and what to do about it
Crashes have their own crash fixes page and grab problems are covered on the grabs page. Everything else players keep running into is below, with what IllFonic has fixed and what you can do about the rest. Tap a bug on the board to jump to it.
Whatever the bug, a full restart of the game is the first thing to try: it clears the stuck-level and missing-progress problems on its own. Changes that shipped in each patch are in the patch notes.
Still happening
The match won't end after Michael quits
Still happening · Civilian
Michael leaves or goes AFK, every civilian and resident gets out or dies, and the match keeps running until the 20-minute timer expires. It doesn't happen every time: some matches end the moment the last civilian escapes, others make you watch the whole clock. Not every missing Michael rage quit, either; the game still crashes for some players, and that drops him out just the same.
What to do
Stay to the end if you want the match's XP. Patch 1.0.2 was meant to let you leave as a spectator and keep your XP, but plenty of players still find that quitting before the end screen costs them the match.
If you're still alive, use the time. Players who stick around work on challenges that don't need Michael, like searching containers, phone calls and residents. Look up which of your Progressive Challenges fit.
If the XP isn't worth ten minutes to you, leave and queue again. You only give up that one match.
Achievements and trophies that won't unlock
Still happening · Michael
IllFonic has named three achievements that don't award for everyone: Purely and Simply Evil (kill 250 residents as Michael), Pumpkin Smasher, and Heavy Handed (75 kills with a two-handed melee weapon). Purely and Simply Evil is the one most people are stuck on. Its counter stops moving in public and private matches alike, while other players got it without trouble. Neither Patch 1.0.3 nor 1.0.4 lists a fix. Some players also can't get Purist or Pincushion to pop, even though Purist was patched in 1.0.2.
What to do
Nothing in the game gets a stuck counter moving again. Email IllFonic's help desk at htghelpdesk@illfonic.com with your username, platform and which achievement it is; that is what IllFonic asks players to do.
Private matches are fine for achievement hunting now. Patch 1.0.3 fixed the host being unable to unlock trophies and achievements.
A match loads with two Michaels and three civilians, and both Michaels are real players: someone who queued as a civilian got dropped in as a second killer. The same matchmaking fault also starts some matches with only one or two civilians.
What to do
Nothing fixes it mid-match. Play it out or leave and queue again.
If you think it's a cheat rather than the bug, report the player from the player list before they leave.
The cop card does nothing
Still happening · Civilian
Once you die or escape you play spectator minigames for cards, and the police card should bring you back as an officer. Sometimes you pick it and nothing happens: you land straight back in the minigames. It is an old bug and Patch 1.0.4 didn't fix it.
What to do
Some players find the respawn is simply closed at that moment. The top of the spectator screen says whether it is available, and a card that only increases reinforcements fills the police badge rather than bringing you back.
Keep playing the minigames for the next card.
Loomis works differently: someone still in the match has to call him in on the CB radio before a civilian who is out can come back as him. The whole routine, and detaining a downed Michael, is in civilian tips; the Fragile Hourglass keeps him down long enough.
Stuck at walking speed after a grab
Still happening · Civilian
You break out of Michael's grab, or sometimes just spawn in, and your civilian moves at a crawl. Sprinting drains stamina without making you any faster, so even slow characters outrun you. Patch 1.0.3 fixed the worse version, where you couldn't move at all after a grab, but the slow version is still around.
What to do
Vaulting a window, breaking another grab and ducking in and out of a hiding spot didn't clear it for players who tried.
What changed about grabs themselves, and which grab bugs are fixed, is on the grabs page.
Stuck inside Shape Jump
Still happening · Michael
Patch 1.0.3 fixed Shape Jump and Killer Sense getting stuck on cooldown for the rest of the match. What still happens now and then is Michael freezing inside Shape Jump, unable to move, or Shape Jump refusing to work later in the match. Some players find it happens most after hopping in and out quickly, for example to pass through a door or window.
What to do
Some players get free by using Reality Tear and then jumping into a nearby car.
Light and being watched block Shape Jump on purpose, so rule those out first. Michael tips covers what stops it and every way round it.
A thrown hatchet vanishes
Still happening · Michael
A thrown hatchet sinks into the ground or a wall, or lands somewhere you can't reach, and you're left without it. Some players find it happens most when the throw kills and the body falls with the hatchet still in it. It hurts most when you're chasing thrown-weapon kills for the Hatchet's Flight of the Axe challenge or the Pincushion achievement.
What to do
Pick up another weapon on the map. Hatchets do spawn around the maps, though they can be hard to find mid-match.
Macros and cheaters: spotting them and reporting them
Some players, most often on PC, run macros that finish the struggle and other minigames the instant they start. From Michael’s side it looks like a tier-3 grab broken before the execute prompt fills, escape locks opened in a blink, or a civilian downing you with one axe hit. From the civilian side it looks like Reality Tear coming back far sooner than it should, or a Michael crossing the map at Shape Jump speed while you can see him.
Rule out the honest explanation first. Since Patches 1.0.3 and 1.0.4, a civilian at Stalk tier 0 to 2 breaks out of a grab easily at any Bloodthirst, so a quick escape from a low-tier grab is the game working as intended. The grab rules show which tier and Bloodthirst make a grab stick.
Reporting a player
Do it during the match. Once they leave, the end screen won’t let you report them.
Open the map: hold Tab on PC, hold View on Xbox.
Switch to the Player List tab at the top of the map.
Select the player, choose Report, then pick a reason.
Turning crossplay off
The game has a crossplay setting. Switched off, you only match players on your own platform, which is why some console players turn it off to get away from PC macros. The cost is queue time: some find PlayStation-only lobbies fill just as fast, others wait far longer, especially as Michael. It is no cure either, since rapid-fire controllers and scripts exist on console too. Keep it on if you party with friends on another platform; how cross-platform parties work is on the crossplay page.
Bugs with a workaround
Character stuck at level 24, or XP not landing
Has a workaround · Civilian
A civilian sits at level 24 with the XP bar nearly full and never ticks over to 25, or a character stops gaining levels for game after game. A close relative: you load in and your levels, perk points or tokens look wiped.
What to do
Close the game completely and start it again. For many players the stuck level lands straight away, and progress that looked reset comes back after a restart, or after installing an update that was waiting.
If one restart doesn't do it, some players only got unstuck after shutting everything down and staying off for a while.
Trapped inside a storm cellar
Has a workaround · Civilian
There are two ways to end up stuck in a closed storm cellar. Michael shuts it just as you run in, or two civilians go in when there is one place left and the door closes on the second. Either way you may not get credit for the escape while you're stuck.
What to do
If Michael closed it, a teammate can open it again, and you escape the moment they do.
If it filled up, there's no way out and you wait for the match to end. When a cellar is nearly full, go in one at a time.
A challenge reads 45/40 but won't complete
Has a workaround · Everyone
Patch 1.0.3 lowered many Progressive Challenge goals. If you were already past the new number, the counter shows more than the goal and the challenge sits there unfinished.
What to do
Do the objective once more. Any new progress completes it, which is exactly what IllFonic's patch notes promise.
If one of these still happens to you, check that the game is fully updated first.
Fixed bugs and the patch that fixed them
Problem
Fixed in
The host of a private match couldn't unlock trophies or achievements
Patch 1.0.3
Shape Jump stuck on cooldown for the rest of the match
Patch 1.0.3
Killer Sense stuck on cooldown for the rest of the match
Patch 1.0.3
Civilian couldn't move after breaking free from a grab, or after trying to get in a car or on a bike while grabbed
Patch 1.0.3
Civilian executed after appearing to struggle free
Patch 1.0.3
Purist, Close Quarters, No Friend Left Behind, Natural Observer and Stalker not tracking
Patch 1.0.2
The grab fixes from Patch 1.0.4, including grabs that were far too hard to escape at Bloodthirst 3, are on the grabs page. Which of the Progressive Challenges IllFonic named as not tracking have been fixed is on the Progressive Challenges page.
Questions
Why won't the match end after Michael left?
It's a bug. When Michael quits or goes AFK, the match often keeps running until the 20-minute timer expires, even after everyone has escaped or died. It doesn't happen every match. Staying keeps your XP; if you're still alive, spend the wait on challenges that don't involve Michael.
Why is my character stuck at level 24?
It's a bug, and restarting the game usually fixes it: the level lands as soon as the game reloads. If one restart doesn't work, close everything and come back later.
Why won't Purely and Simply Evil unlock?
IllFonic has confirmed that Purely and Simply Evil, Pumpkin Smasher and Heavy Handed don't award for some players, and no patch has fixed it yet. Nothing in the game gets the counter moving; email htghelpdesk@illfonic.com with your username and platform.
Why does my Escapes stat say 0?
The Escapes statistic is broken and stays at 0 however often you get out. Escape challenges keep their own counters, so check those instead.
How do you report a cheater in Halloween: The Game?
During the match, open the map (hold Tab on PC, hold View on Xbox), switch to the Player List tab, select the player and choose Report and a reason. Do it before they leave: you can't report someone from the end screen once they're gone.
Can you turn off crossplay?
Yes. With crossplay off you only match players on your own platform, which some console players do to avoid PC macro users. Expect longer queues, especially as Michael, and leave it on if you play with friends on another platform.
My challenge says 45/40 but isn't complete. What do I do?
Do the objective once more. Patch 1.0.3 lowered many goals, and any new progress completes a challenge whose counter was already past the new number.