Bringing Halo: MCC To PC Is A “Monumental Undertaking,” So Microsoft Is Getting Help

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is coming to PC, and Microsoft is getting help from a pair of external studios to bring the collection to Steam and the Microsoft Store. In a blog post, developer 343 Industries said bringing Halo: MCC to PC is a “monumental undertaking,” and to get help, it’s hired Ruffian Games and Splash Damage.

Another factor at play here is that the “bulk” of 343 developers are now working on Halo Infinite, so the team is turning to outside studios to spread the development load.

“Bringing all these classic games together and integrating the huge matrix of features and experiences PC gamers and Halo fans deserve and expect is a monumental undertaking,” 343 said. “It’s no secret that the bulk of the team of 343 Industries is hard at work realizing the future of the franchise with Halo Infinite so the same amazing Publishing Team who diligently brought all the recent improvements and updates to MCC over the last year has invited a few friends to help us achieve victory. The experienced and passionate folks at Splash Damage and Ruffian are partnering with us to help make this dream a reality.”

Splash Damage CEO Richard Jolly said in a statement that it is a “tremendous honor” to work on Halo. He noted that Splash Damage has been making multiplayer games for nearly two decades; some of its recent projects include the multiplayer elements of Batman: Arkham Origins and Microsoft’s own Gears of War 4.

As for Ruffian Games, the studio made Crackdown 3‘s Wrecking Zone multiplayer mode, so it, too, already had an established relationship with Microsoft. “We love Halo and are mindblown to help bring this franchise back to PC,” reads a statement from Ruffian Games. “343 has assembled an amazing team who’re working hard to build the Halo PC experience fans deserve. It’s a privilege to be along for the ride.”

Halo: MCC is coming to PC in a unique way. Microsoft is releasing each game individually, as a separate download and purchase, beginning with Halo: Reach and continuing chronologically through Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo 4. Halo 1 and 2 are the new, remastered Anniversary editions.

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How Halo: Reach Will Be Added To Halo: MCC And What It Costs

Halo: Reach is finally coming to Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and now Microsoft has clarified how you’ll get access to it on Xbox One and PC.

On Xbox One, the game’s multiplayer content–include Forge and Theatre–will be free for everyone who owns the game. The game’s campaign and Firefight mode, however, are getting bundled together in a “premium digital add-on” that you’ll have to buy. Pricing was not disclosed, however.

Xbox Game Pass subscribers have the easiest path to getting all of Halo: Reach’s components. Members will receive “the entirety of Halo: Reach,” according to Microsoft. The word “entirety” suggests there will not be an extra cost for Game Pass members.

Halo: Reach is also coming to the newly announced PC version of Halo: MCC, and its release structure is a little different. According to Microsoft’s news release, the game’s “campaign, multiplayer, and Firefight [will be] available for purchase…”

It’s not clear if Reach’s campaign, multiplayer, and Firefight will be bundled together in one package or each sold as individual elements. Microsoft has said it will share many more details about Halo: MCC’s release on PC in the time ahead, so all should become clear eventually.

For more on recent Halo news, check out the stories linked below.

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Microsoft Bringing Halo To Steam, And That’s A Big Deal

Back in 2016, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said Microsoft was committed to bringing more of its games to Steam–and with releases like Sunset Overdrive, Quantum Break, Ori and the Blind Forest, and others, the company has indeed ramped up.

Microsoft is going even bigger now with the news today that it’s launching Halo on Steam. The Master Chief Collection, a huge package that includes Halo 1-4, along with ODST and Halo: Reach, will be available on Steam beginning later this year.

Microsoft has never released a Halo FPS game on Steam, so this is a big deal (Halo Wars: Definitive Edition is on Steam). Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 were released on PC through Microsoft’s own store, while Halo 5: Forge also made its way to PC, but not through Steam.

Speaking generally about Steam back in 2016, Spencer said it’s a “massive force” in the gaming industry–and a positive one.

“I look at Valve as an important [independent software vendor] for us on Windows. They are a critical part of gaming’s success on Windows,” he said. “I don’t think Valve’s hurt by not having our first-party games in their store right now. They’re doing incredible well. We will ship games on Steam again.”

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is releasing on Steam in a unique way. Microsoft will release each game individually, beginning with Halo: Reach and continuing in chronological order from there. The games will be available for individual purchase as they become available, though specific pricing details have not been announced.

The game is also launching on PC through the Microsoft Store.

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Xbox Shows Project xCloud In Action, Playing Forza Horizon 4 On A Phone

During the latest Inside Xbox livestream, Microsoft’s Project xCloud tech was shown off in action. Project xCloud allows games to be streamed directly to devices via hardware in remote data centers, letting you play games through a sufficiently high-speed internet connection. Specifically, Forza Horizon 4 was shown running on an Android-based phone connected wirelessly to an Xbox One controller.

Xbox’s head of gaming cloud Kareem Choudhry said that public trials for Project xCloud will begin this year, though a specific timing window was not given. Not much else was said in terms of details, but Microsoft dug into the tech a bit last year with a video discussing how the tech works. At E3 2018, head of Xbox Phil Spencer made mention of game streaming during the company’s keynote presentation, and stressed that the tech will deliver “console-quality gaming on any device.”

Cloud-based gaming is a fairly new and complex technology, and it’s a good thing we have you covered; be sure to check out our detailed explainer on everything you need to know about cloud gaming.

Recently, I reviewed the cloud-based streaming service called Shadow and its set-top box Shadow Ghost. The service gives you access to a powerful gaming PC and streams the video feed of that PC to any device that can run the Shadow application. While it had some issues, Shadow worked especially well for non-competitive gaming experiences.

Inside Xbox had a few other big stories. Halo: The Master Chief Collection is set to launch on PC through a gradual rollout starting later this year with each game in the package sold separately. Halo: Reach will be the first of the series’ lineup to hit the PC. Reach will also come to the Xbox One version of the collection with multiplayer available for existing owners; the campaign and Firefight mode will be separate paid DLC. Xbox Game Pass subscribers will be able to access all of the additional content when the update comes.

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Borderlands Dev Teases Game With A “3” In The Title, And Yeah, You Know Where This Is Going

It looks like Borderlands developer Gearbox might announce its next game very soon. The studio posted a teaser image on Twitter today that many are taking to be a sign that Borderlands 3 will be announced at PAX East later this month.

The teaser image shows a highway sign for Boston, Mass. and date March 28, while the background looks visually similar to the style of the Borderlands series. The top right of the highway sign shows the bottom half of the number three. PAX East takes place in Boston, and the “3” might be a signal that this is all in reference to Borderlands 3.

March 28 is the same day that Gearbox is holding a panel at PAX East’s biggest hall. Among other things, the panel promises “never-before-seen reveals, exclusives, and surprises.” Fore those who cannot attend, the event will be streamed live.

Gearbox’s next title is expected to be published by 2K, whose parent company Take-Two has been talking about a “highly anticipated” sequel for a long time now, despite it never being officially announced. Speculation has suggested that the game may be Borderlands 3, or whatever the next title in the series ends up being called. Regardless, a new Borderlands is known to be in development.

Gearbox’s latest new game was 2016’s Battleborn, which, despite being the company’s “biggest investment ever,” was not as successful as Take-Two wanted. Gearbox has stopped updating the game, but its servers remain online.

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