UPDATE: While the issues with Halo matchmaking persist, the game's executive producer, Dan Ayoub, has written a lengthy letter about what's being done to fix it. You can read the whole thing, but here's an excerpt, which includes an apology:
"We are doing everything we can on an hourly basis to improve the experience, while we work on our solution. In the meantime, we’ve found a few things looking at the data that can help you a little as well. We’re seeing successful match times from anywhere from 15 seconds to 4 minutes. 4 minutes is a long time to wait for a match, but don’t quit out too quickly as it will come. If you haven’t found a match within about 4 minutes, please exit the search and restart, as this will reset the parameters and increase the likelihood of entering a match. I realize this isn’t ideal, but it’s temporary while we sort things out.
I’d like to personally apologize to you all for the current situation. I can assure you we’re attacking this from all directions from 343 Industries to the Xbox platform, and we won’t rest until it’s what it should be. People are reporting improvements across the board, which is great, but we’re not backing down until we finish this fight."
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It's still unclear when (or if) Driveclub will ever be fully operational, but Sony's not the only company facing online issues for a high-profile release. The just launched Halo: The Master Chief Collection has notable matchmaking issues for new players.
A quick search of the terms "halo matchmaking" on Twitter reveals plenty of grumbling, and you have to feel bad for people trying to enjoy a day off with a troubled online game.
343 Studios needs to fix the matchmaking on Halo! This crap is taking forever #HaloMCC #343studios
— Jonathan Murphy (@jmurphh88) November 11, 2014
All I wanted to do in my day off was play halo but matchmaking isn't working :(
— Triston (@Chess_Master300) November 11, 2014
343 Industries pointed fans to this support post, promising updates as matchmaking is addressed.
"We are aware of the issues players have been experiencing with matchmaking and we’re working around the clock, alongside the Xbox Live team, to improve the situation. We have deployed an update that has shown some improvement, and we continue to optimize the experience. The update deployed to matchmaking was done on the server side and does not require an extra download to your Xbox One. This is our top priority and will keep everyone updated regularly as we deploy continued improvements."