What is the latest Halloween patch?

Patch 1.0.4. It fixed grabs being far too hard to escape at Bloodthirst 3, steadied Xbox Series X|S (Series S now runs one 30 FPS graphics mode), fixed the crash when Loomis joins a match, and gave players who were already playing when the patch arrived 10,000 Perk Points.

What did Patch 1.0.3 change?

It was the first balance patch. Civilians hit Michael less hard (especially Bob, Laurie and Drunk perks), Michael gets a short buff after he gets up from being downed, the Wood Axe and Pickaxe are slightly weaker and slower, fast civilians are slower and slow ones faster, fewer heavy weapons and guns spawn, and every civilian's Progressive Challenge goals were rebalanced.

Did the patches fix the story-mode challenges?

Patch 1.0.2 fixed four that were not tracking. IllFonic has said Chapter 2 Challenge 6, Chapter 4 Challenges 5 and 6 and Chapter 5 Challenge 6 may be made easier, but 1.0.3 and 1.0.4 did not change them.

Update log

Halloween: The Game patch notes

Every patch, newest first, with balance changes grouped at the top of each entry and fixes below.

1.1.0 is a preview, not a released patch

Changes to challenges, NPCs, storm cellars and the pocket knife are planned. Keep using the released rules until the update arrives; the preview does not contain the full new requirements.

Read the update announcement

What the preview could change for your next match

These are planned changes. The released patch remains 1.0.4; no new cellar requirements, knife values or specific achievement fixes are listed in the preview.

Preview areas and how to prepare without assuming the changes are live
Planned area	Before the update	Guide or tool
NPC movement and cop interactions	Keep resident commands and exit readiness separate.	Civilian match flow
Story failure notices and challenge fixes	Follow the current objective text; a completed manual checklist does not award game credit.	Find the objective
Storm cellar balance	Do not substitute car or gate item requirements for a cellar.	Compare the exit types
Pocket knife adjustments	Keep the grab escape and passive Amulet protection separate.	Grab escape guide
Crash and performance fixes	Record your platform, version and trigger when reporting a problem.	Find the matching symptom

Patch 1.0.4

All platforms, mostly Xbox Series X|S

A follow-up that fixes the grab problems 1.0.3 introduced, steadies Xbox Series X|S, and hands players who were already playing when the patch arrived 10,000 Perk Points.

Perk Points

10,000 Perk Points granted to Halloween: The Game players active when the patch arrived.

Grab Struggling

Fixed an issue where Bloodthirst Level 3 would cause Grabs to be way harder to escape from than intended
Fixed an issue where Struggling free from a grab while on uneven terrain would cause the Civilian to take fall damage

Xbox Series X|S

Addressed a range of memory and GPU-related crashes
Adjusted settings for Performance Mode on Xbox Series X to improve performance
Introduced a new singular graphics mode for Xbox Series S: the Quality/Performance toggle is removed on Series S
The Series S profile caps framerate at 30 FPS while improving overall texture quality and enabling hair physics during gameplay

Crashes

Fixed an issue where Loomis spawning in would cause players to experience a performance hit or, on lower-spec platforms, crash
Fixed a variety of crashes, such as crashing after completing a Story Mission or loading into a match, across all platforms

Full Patch 1.0.4 notes on halloweengame.com

Patch 1.0.3

All platforms

The first balance patch. Civilian melee is toned down so Michael can't be one-shot downed as easily, Michael gets a buff after he gets up, the Wood Axe and Pickaxe lose a little damage and speed, fast civilians slow down, and every civilian's Progressive Challenge goals are rebalanced.

Civilian melee

Reduced effectiveness of Capability for Melee Damage at higher stat values
Increased effectiveness of Capability for Melee Damage at lower stat values
Reduced Fear Resistance granted by the Heavyweight trait
Reduced Melee Damage granted by the Heavyweight trait
Reduced effect of Civilian melee damage boost while Drunk
Increased Michael's damage resistance across all Bloodthirst levels

Downed Michael

Michael now gains a short duration buff after getting up from a Downed state
This buff grants Michael Stagger immunity and an increase in Damage Resistance, Melee Damage, and Melee Attack Speed for the duration of the buff
Michael will also be empowered with increased Health Regeneration and Daze Resistance for a short period of time after getting up from a Downed state

Weapons

Reduced Combo Attack Speed for the Wood Axe and Pick-Axe
Reduced light and heavy Attack Damage for the Wood Axe and Pick-Axe
Lowered amount of heavy Melee Weapons, Rifles, and Shotguns spawns across all maps and locations
Increased the Stagger cooldowns for Civilians
Reduced overall Melee Weapon Durability
Increased damage of the Shotgun at close ranges

Scoring

Lowered the score for killing Special Targets and raised the score for both saving and killing Residents

Grabs and Pocket Knives

Reduced impact force from failed Grab attempts on the Civilian player
Civilians now have an easier time Struggling free from grabs at Stalk Tiers 0-2
Reduced effectiveness of Capability for Grab Struggle at higher stat values
Slight increase to the difficulty of the Pocket Knife break free minigame

Civilian speed

Reduced effectiveness of Athleticism for movement and sprint speeds at higher stat values
Increased effectiveness of Athleticism for movement and sprint speeds at lower stat values

Challenges

Progressive Challenge goals rebalanced for every civilian, plus 1978 Michael and the Hatchet. If your progress already exceeds a new goal, any further progress toward it completes the challenge. The full list is on the Progressive Challenges page.
All Passive Challenges now continue to gain progress after Prestiging. This is a temporary fix while the issue where Prestiging makes Passive Challenges appear locked is worked on
Reduced difficulty for completing any Challenges that require the player to knock Michael off his feet
Reduced difficulty for completing any Challenges that require the player to blind, disorient, or stun Michael
Fixed an issue where the Host of the Private Match was unable to unlock trophies/achievements

Fixes

Fixed several issues that were causing players to be executed even after appearing to have Struggled free from the Grab
Fixed an issue where Bolt Cutters were not able to open containers if the Bolt Cutters had low durability
Fixed an issue where using emotes could allow the player to cancel animations
Fixed an issue where the player could lose the ability to move after breaking free from a grab
Fixed an issue where the player could lose the ability to move after attempting to enter a vehicle/ride a bicycle while being grabbed
Fixed an issue where the Wood Axe would lose way more durability than intended
Placing a Shape Mine no longer completely stops Michael's movement
Fixed an issue where Shape Jump could become stuck on cooldown for the rest of the match
Fixed an issue where Killer Sense could become stuck on cooldown for the rest of the match
Fixed an issue where Michael could collide with the Police Wagon while in Shape Jump
Fixed an issue that was preventing Michael from reaching Civilians on the merry-go-round in Orange Grove Estates

Full Patch 1.0.3 notes on halloweengame.com

Patch 1.0.2

All platforms

The second hotfix. Story-mode challenges in the Prologue and Chapters 2, 4 and 5 stop failing to track, Prestige Challenges come back, Michael gets tougher early in a match, and the Lethal Pitch perk is cut back.

Crashes and Stability

Patch 1.0.2 introduces numerous crash fixes and stability improvements across all platforms. We are collecting community feedback and investigating further optimization opportunities.

Xbox Series S

Our team is aware of performance and stability issues disproportionately impacting Xbox Series S players. We are actively working to improve visual fidelity, overall performance, and memory-related crashes. Players can expect additional focused fixes and improvements with an upcoming patch.

Interactions

We've made several fixes to issues that were impacting player interactions and interaction prompts disappearing. This is an ongoing process, and we will be continuously investigating issues of this nature. We appreciate any and all feedback related to player interactions
Fixed several issues that were causing certain items to not be obtainable due to collision issues
Fixed an issue where the interaction prompts could disappear after an NPC has moved the player out of position while the player in engaged in conversation
Fixed an issue where the interaction prompts could disappear after a Civilian was affected by any collision while Grabbed
Fixed an issue where the interaction prompts could disappear when the Fragile Hourglass was used on Michael while he is downed
Fixed an issue where the interaction prompts for certain Escapes would disappear after repairing the Escape Car

Challenges

Fixed an issue where certain challenges that required the player to escort Residents to an escape were not being tracked properly
Fixed an issue where certain challenges that required the player to survive a match were not being tracked properly
Fixed an issue where the Killer Passive Challenge “Weight of the Mask” was not being tracked properly
Fixed an issue where the Rachel Progressive Challenge “Superstitious Tools” was not tracking the properly based on the description
Fixed an issue where the Rachel Progressive Challenge “Ward Off Evil” was gaining additional progress
Fixed an issue where the Hatchet Progressive Challenge “Wheels Clipped” was not tracking properly
Fixed an issue where the Kitchen Knife Progressive Challenge “Edge of the Blade” was not tracking properly

Story Mode Challenges

Fixed an issue where the Prologue Challenge 6 was not being tracked properly
Fixed an issue for Chapter 2 Challenge 6 where certain executions would count the player as alerting someone
Fixed an issue for Chapter 4 Challenge 2 that would cause Lynda to immediately leave the bedroom after Bob has been killed
Fixed an issue for Chapter 5 Challenge 1 where the flashlights were required to be completely drained to complete the challenge

Achievements/Trophies

Fixed several issues that were causing the following achievements/trophies to not track properly
Purist
Close Quarters
No Friend Left Behind
Natural Observer
Stalker

Prestige

Reenabled Prestige Challenges
Fixed an issue where an active Prestige Challenge was preventing players from entering matchmaking

Follow-up update

After today's patch, there was a brief period when Weapon Prestige Challenges weren't populating as intended, including challenge criteria without text. This issue should be resolved across all Prestige Challenges. Please restart the game for these changes to take effect. We are aware certain challenges contain unclear objectives. While these challenges are still completable, we understand it's currently difficult to identify the proper completion criteria.
We are constantly working to improve the user experience. Please continue to send us any feedback regarding challenges.

Bloodthirst Early Game

Bloodthirst Tiers enable Michael to bolster his damage resistance, grab strength, melee damage, ability cooldowns, Shape Jump speed, and more to drastically increase his capabilities. We’ve made the following change to improve Michael’s early game effectiveness:
Increased Michael’s base damage resistance
Increased Michael’s Bloodthirst tier 1 and 2 damage resistance

Lethal Pitch Perk

The Lethal Pitch Perk was showing itself to be far too effective in its upper tiers. We’ll be carefully watching this perk and many others to identify further balance opportunities.
Lowered the effectiveness of tiers 2, 3, 4, and 5 of Lethal Pitch Perk

Pocket Knives

With Pocket Knives being equippable as a Starting Item for Civilians, we’ve made the decision to reduce the total number of Pocket Knives and Icepicks available on each map. We want these items to feel valuable to players and provide rare opportunities for clutch moments of survival. We’ll continue monitoring the quantity and placement of these items as well.
Reduced the amount of Grab Escape Items (such as the Pocket Knife) spawns across all maps and locations

General

Fixes an issue where the escape car could behave erratically while escaping
Fixed an issue where the Redeem button in the Redeem Code menu was not working properly when using a controller
Fixed an issue where the facial animations would sometimes not play correctly on certain characters
Fixed an issue where players would not obtain any XP when leaving the match as a Spectator

Civilians

Fixed an issue where the Brimstone Fuse trait effect was being calculated incorrectly
Fixed an issue where the Loomis Reinforcements Perk Card was not working properly
Fixed an issue where Followers would close and lock doors on the player
Fixed an issue where players spawning in as the Police would sometimes be missing dialogue and VOIP facial animations
Fixed an issue where collisions could cause players in the vehicle to take several instances of additional damage
Fixed an issue where the limited promotional “Regal” Eyewear was missing for Rachel

Killer

Fixed an issue where it was possible to kill Michael while he is interacting with the Storm Cellar and Exit Gate
Made improvements to the knockback animations for Michael when colliding with a high speed vehicle

Maps

Fixed an issue preventing rain VFX from appearing correctly in Public Matches

Full Patch 1.0.2 notes on halloweengame.com

Day One Patch 1.0.1

All platforms

The launch-day patch. It fixes crossplay parties getting split in matchmaking and starts on the challenges and achievements that were not tracking.

Crossplay

Addresses the cross-play matchmaking issue players were experiencing during Early Access.
Cross-play party members now follow their leader into a matchmade lobby instead of being kicked to the main menu or dropped from the party.

NPC behavior

Improved NPC pathing to prevent instances where Police NPCs would get stuck in certain locations.
Improved NPC pathing to prevent instances where Residents would not be able to path into Escapes.

Challenges and achievements

Additional fixes to challenges and achievements that were not tracking properly. The developers say they will continue identifying outliers and implementing fixes with future updates.

Stamina — all civilians

Increased Civilian base Stamina Regen Delay Time.
Increased the Stamina Consumption caused by Evil Presence on affected targets.
Stalked targets are now affected by reduced Stamina Regen Rate and increased Stamina Regen Delay Time (amount dependent on the Stalk level).

Stamina — Athleticism levels 1–4

Exhausted Duration has been decreased, allowing Civilians with lower Athleticism to recover from the Exhausted state faster.
The delay before stamina begins regenerating has been decreased, ensuring quicker recovery between actions.
Stamina Regen Rate has been increased so Civilians with lower Athleticism recover stamina faster.

Stamina — Athleticism levels 6–10

Slightly reduced Max Stamina to maintain chase tension with Civilians with higher Athleticism.
Reduced Stamina Regen Rate of Civilians with higher Athleticism to balance player mobility.

Escapes

Civilians now discover Escapes from farther away — the range at which players uncover Escapes was increased to ease the new-player experience.

General

Various crash fixes.
Adjustments to end-of-match scoring to better balance Civilian and Michael win conditions.
Reduced the amount of force that vehicles apply to characters at low speeds.
Reduced the delay with Perk-related interactions in the Graveyard.
Increased the pre-match countdown for Public Match lobbies when the lobby is not yet full.
Increased Broken Down Car max health.
Fixed an issue where the achievement for completing Chapter 5 was not being awarded.
Fixed an issue where the NPC’s time to struggle free while grabbed was not properly scaling with difficulty in Story Mode
Fixed an issue where related interaction prompts could disappear after using certain interactions.
Fixed an issue where grab executions could cause the victim to become alerted even if they had been unaware prior to being grabbed.
Fixed an issue where the variable weather system was not properly activating in Public Matches.
Fixed an issue where escaping at certain locations would not cause the character's body to disappear.

Civilians

Each Perk Deck now has a limit of 2 copies of the same perk. Existing Perk Decks will have Perk Cards automatically un-equipped if over the limit.
Improved Civilian melee attack animations when aiming downwards.
Increased the amount of XP required for the initial in-game perk rolls.
Fixed an issue where the in-game perk rolling menu could become stuck.
Fixed an issue where residents hidden in Hiding Spots were not appearing on Civilian minimaps.
Fixed an issue where the player would not resume weapon aiming after being startled.

Killer

Increased diminishing returns when blinding Michael more than once within a short period of time.
Increased the effectiveness of Detection Pulse for locating residents in Hiding Spots.
Increased duration of Stalk Markers on Stalked Civilians after line of sight has been broken.
Stalked targets now have an easier time struggling free when grabbed at Stalk level 1 and 2.
Fixed an issue where Shape Dash VFX would persist after exiting Shape Jump.
Fixed an issue where Michael would sometimes become invisible for other players under certain conditions.
Fixed an issue where Michael would not enter Shape Jump when using Reality Tear while getting up from a downed state.

Maps

Public Matches will no longer repeat maps until cycling through every available map.
Increased the amount of Repair Kits that spawn each match.
Fixed several locations where interactions were inaccessible under certain conditions.
Fixed several Hiding Spot related collision issues.
Fixed an issue where dead bodies hidden in Hiding Spots could still be visible.
Fixed an issue where the wooden board escape blockers would sometimes disappear without being destroyed.

Full Day One Patch 1.0.1 notes on halloweengame.com

Early Access Hotfix 1

All platforms

The first hotfix, released during Advance Access, before the full launch. Mostly crash fixes, plus a few challenge-tracking and Michael fixes.

Early Access Hotfix

Numerous Crash Fixes
Fixes to several challenges that were not tracking properly
Fixed an issue where Offline Play was affected by the login queueing system
Fixed an issue where the prompt to get up after being downed as Michael would sometimes not appear
Fixed an issue causing the game to render incorrectly on Xbox Series S in Performance Mode on certain displays

Full Early Access Hotfix 1 notes on halloweengame.com

Questions

What is the latest Halloween patch?: Patch 1.0.4. It fixed grabs being far too hard to escape at Bloodthirst 3, steadied Xbox Series X|S (Series S now runs one 30 FPS graphics mode), fixed the crash when Loomis joins a match, and gave players who were already playing when the patch arrived 10,000 Perk Points.
What did Patch 1.0.3 change?: It was the first balance patch. Civilians hit Michael less hard (especially Bob, Laurie and Drunk perks), Michael gets a short buff after he gets up from being downed, the Wood Axe and Pickaxe are slightly weaker and slower, fast civilians are slower and slow ones faster, fewer heavy weapons and guns spawn, and every civilian's Progressive Challenge goals were rebalanced.
Did the patches fix the story-mode challenges?: Patch 1.0.2 fixed four that were not tracking. IllFonic has said Chapter 2 Challenge 6, Chapter 4 Challenges 5 and 6 and Chapter 5 Challenge 6 may be made easier, but 1.0.3 and 1.0.4 did not change them.

Keep going

Progressive Challenges

Every civilian's challenge list with the goals Patch 1.0.3 set.

Is it worth it?

What the reviews say the patches did and did not fix.

News & updates

Every official announcement, newest first.

Performance guide

Settings and hardware that make the biggest difference.

Michael Myers

Abilities, starting weapons and how the killer side differs.

Loadout Lab

Compare every civilian across the four stats.