Last Friday, it was learned that Halo: The Master Chief Collection will combine Halo: Reach and Halo: ODST's Firefight communities, and improve matchmaking. The change will be a part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection's upcoming Season 7 update.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection added Firefight during summer 2020, much to the delight of fans. However, since its addition, the mode has not had the most efficient layout: currently, Firefight has its own separate matchmaking menu which has resulted in longer wait times. Additionally, Halo: Reach and Halo: ODST's Firefight matchmaking were separate, further segmenting the player pool. Now, with Season 7, 343 Industries will be remedying these inefficiencies.
A post to the Halo Waypoint forums from last Friday announced that 343 Industries would be making changes to Firefight's matchmaking to, "allows players to get in on the action in a much more streamlined and accessible way." The post outlines the list of reasons for this change, which include, "helping to bring the Firefight communities between ODST and Reach closer, so they can all find more matches." as well as, "Open the door for potential rotational Firefight options and categories."
The part about potential rotational Firefight options was something that 343 Industries touched on more than once in its community post, as an attached screenshot shows a variety of different settings that, "can be changed on the fly and possibly rotate weekly when released." It is important to note here that 343 Industries is only moving Firefight from its own submenu, into the regular social games browser with the rest of the game modes, and does not have anything to do with the incoming Halo: The Master Chief Collection custom game browser.
The more efficient Firefight matchmaking menu will be coming with the Season 7 update, however, a definitive date for the update is still currently unknown. Halo: The Master Chief Collection's Season 7 update will include a haul of other changes and additions, including Halo 3's first new map since 2009.
E3 2021 is taking place this weekend June 12 - 15, and Microsoft will be there. While Bethesda and Halo Infinite be the big presentations, Halo: The Master Chief Collection may get some shine as one of the "smaller," lead-up presentations, so perhaps Season 7's release date may get revealed then.
Source: Halo Waypoint