MP1st reports that Halloween: The Game update 1.013 is live and brings the game to ver. 1.0.4. If your console shows 1.013 rather than 1.0.4, that is the same update.
Why a second patch landed so quickly
Patch 1.0.3 went out on September 22 as a large update covering balance, bug fixes and crashes. One of its goals was to make Michael's grabs easier to escape. The 1.0.3 notes say Civilians would have an easier time struggling free at Stalk Tiers 0–2.
Some of those grab changes, combined with other grab-related bug fixes, caused new problems. The studio lists two in its 1.0.4 notes:
- Bloodthirst Level 3 grabs became much harder to escape. The developers say escaping Michael at that level became "exponentially" harder than intended. They give no numbers.
- Players took fall damage after escaping. Civilians who struggled free on uneven terrain sometimes took fall damage anyway.
The team apologized for letting both issues through. MP1st summed it up: Illfonic released game update 1.0.3 for Halloween: The Game that introduced balance changes and a host of other improvements. Unfortunately, that patch also brought issues with it, mostly with how grabbing works.
What 1.0.4 fixes:
- Bloodthirst Level 3 no longer makes grabs harder to escape than intended.
- Escaping a grab on uneven terrain no longer causes fall damage.
The notes do not say the 1.0.3 changes to lower Stalk Tiers were rolled back. This is a targeted fix for two unintended side effects, not a reversal of the rebalance.
Section summary: Grab escapes at Bloodthirst Level 3 should behave as intended again, and escaping a grab on uneven ground should no longer cost you health. The 1.0.3 escape changes at lower Stalk Tiers stay in place.
Xbox Series X|S: the main part of the patch
For Xbox players, the grab fixes are secondary. The studio says 1.0.4 addresses a range of memory- and GPU-related crashes on Series X|S and adjusts graphics settings on both consoles. It doesn't list the individual crashes or give before-and-after performance figures.
Xbox Series X
The change here is brief: Performance Mode settings were adjusted to improve performance. The notes give no resolution, frame-rate target or measurements. Series X keeps both modes; only Performance Mode was tuned.
Xbox Series S
This is the biggest change in the patch. Introduced a new singular graphics mode for XBOX Series S • In an effort to address stability issues, we have removed the Quality/Performance toggle on Series S • This Series S profile caps framerate at 30 FPS while improving overall texture quality and enabling hair physics during gameplay
In practice, Series S owners lose the choice of mode. They get a fixed 30 FPS cap, along with better textures and hair physics. The studio frames this as a stability decision.
Series S has had trouble since launch. In the 1.0.2 notes, the team wrote that it was 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. Two patches later, the fix is one locked mode.
How much does losing the toggle cost? Reports disagree. Pure Xbox pointed to test footage from launch showing a maximum of 30FPS in both Quality and Performance modes on each console. Aroged, reporting on an early-September update, described a Series S Performance mode at 1080p (scaled) 60 FPS, though the frame rate often dropped to around 45-50. Neither report measures the 1.0.4 build, so there is no clear baseline for how much Series S players are giving up.
Our view (based on general industry experience, not testing of this build): On a memory-limited console, a steady 30 FPS that doesn't crash usually beats an uneven 45–50 FPS that does. In an asymmetrical multiplayer game, a crash ends your match and can hurt your team's. Players who valued higher frame rates for chases and struggle inputs will still feel the loss, and nothing in the notes says the 60 FPS option will return.
Section summary: Series X keeps both modes, with an adjusted Performance Mode. Series S now has a single 30 FPS mode with better textures and hair physics, chosen for stability.
The Loomis hair problem
Players had repeatedly reported performance problems when Loomis entered a match as a reinforcement character. The studio traced it to an unlikely source: Ironically, we identified a significant performance hit rooted in Loomis' hair.
The patch fixes an issue where Loomis spawning in caused a performance hit or, on lower-spec platforms, a crash. The notes don't name those platforms or explain the fix, so the hair explanation is the developer's own attribution.
Real-time hair rendering is a known performance cost in modern games, especially on hardware with limited memory, so the explanation is plausible. It's also notable that the same patch turns hair physics on during gameplay in the Series S profile. That suggests the Loomis problem was specific to that asset, not hair rendering in general.
Crash fixes on every platform
The patch also fixes crashes on all platforms, including PC. The two examples given are:
- Crashing after completing a Story Mission
- Crashing while loading into a match
That's not a complete list, and the notes don't say which platforms each crash affected. The studio says it Crash fixes and optimization are ongoing priorities for our team and we plan to address additional issues with future updates. That's a stated intention with no dates attached. It doesn't promise that every crash is fixed.
10,000 free Perk Points
As thanks for putting up with the grab bugs and ongoing performance problems, especially on Series X|S, the studio is giving 10,000 Perk Points to all current Halloween: The Game players.
The announcement doesn't say how "current" players are determined, whether there's a deadline, or whether you need to log in or claim anything. If the points don't show up, check the developer's official community channels rather than assuming it's a bug on your end.
What to do after updating
- Check your version. On console, look for update 1.013 (game version 1.0.4) before blaming older bugs.
- Series S players: the graphics mode toggle is gone, so you don't need to look for it. A 30 FPS cap is now expected behavior.
- Series X players: if you use Performance Mode, check it again, since its settings have changed.
- Grab testing: Bloodthirst Level 3 escapes and escapes on uneven terrain should now work as intended. If they still don't, that's a new problem worth reporting.
- Crashes: if you still crash after a Story Mission or while loading into a match, report it. These are listed as fixed, so repeat crashes are useful data for the developers.
The bottom line
Patch 1.0.4 fixes the mistakes Patch 1.0.3 introduced and makes a clear call on Series S: stability comes before frame-rate choice. Series S owners get a locked 30 FPS with better visuals, and some will prefer the old option. Everyone else gets fairer grab escapes, fewer crashes and some free Perk Points.
The quick turnaround is good to see. Shipping a balance patch and then a fix for it within four days also suggests the grab changes weren't tested enough before 1.0.3 went out. Better testing would help the next patch more than 10,000 Perk Points will.