Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Launches on Steam, Microsoft Store, and Xbox Game Pass

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Image: 343 Studios

It’s time for Halo fans – and PC gamers, in particular – to unseal the hushed casket yet again.

In a surprise announcement, Microsoft and 343 Studios revealed that Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is now available on the PC as part of the The Master Chief Collection (MCC). The package originally launched in December with just one title, Halo: Reach, but fans can now re-live the excitement of Master Chief’s first encounter with the mysterious, alien ring world that defined the series.

This isn’t the first time that Halo was released on the PC (Gearbox Software released a port of Halo: Combat Evolved in 2003), but the MCC edition represents the definitive version of the game. It comes with plenty of modern updates, such as 4K/60 FPS graphics and native keyboard/mouse support.

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary looks and plays better than ever at 60 frames-per-second (or greater) with 4K UHD support, and players can fine-tune their experience with a vast array of options including variable framerate, native mouse/keyboard support and the ability to rebind controls, support for ultra-wide displays and different aspect rations, updates texture/shadow quality and more,” said 343 Industries.

Players can also instantaneously switch between Halo’s classic graphics and the Anniversary edition’s enhanced visuals with the press of a button. Jeff Steitzer’s original voice work for multiplayer has been restored as well.

“Additionally, we’re happy to introduce community-requested features such as the option to use ‘classic’ audio in multiplayer and improvements to Spartan customization,” the developer added.

The Master Chief Collection can be purchased on the Microsoft Store and Steam for $39.99, but those who only care for Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary can buy it as an individual title for $9.99.

Halo fans can also get The Master Chief Collection by subscribing to Xbox Game Pass for PC, which is still in beta. 343 Studios says that the rest of the Halo titles – Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST (Campaign), and Halo 4 – will be added before the end of the year, “completing the collection in 2020.”

Tsing Mui
News poster at The FPS Review.

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