343 Industries has spent a lot of effort modernizing Halo: The Master Chief Collection (MCC) for the PC platform with improvements ranging from higher frame rates to proper mouse and keyboard support, but something that fans have been wondering is whether the developer will take a significant step further and add ray tracing to the game.
Senior Producer Matt Hohl touched upon that very possibility during a recent MCC Development Update regarding the next-gen enhancements coming to the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S versions of the game.
While Hohl plays coy and does not explicitly confirm that Halo: The Master Chief Collection is getting ray tracing, he does provide an answer that suggests 343 Industries is open to the possibility, noting that the developer is definitely considering fan input.
Q: Players across the community have been talking about the possibilities of Ray Tracing being added to MCC someday for next gen hardware – is that something the team has explored? Beyond the items noted above, are you looking into additional opportunities to tap into these new consoles with MCC down the road?
Hohl: I’m personally excited to see what we can do with the power of this new hardware in the future. The complexity and scope of MCC poses unique challenges that I am still learning about, but I love the opportunities it offers for how we can roll out new features and enhancements in the future. One thing I have already learned here is that this team listens to the community as a crucial element to our planning. I love that and am excited to see what we can do together in the future!
Considering the amount of time that 343 Industries has invested into the package, it wouldn’t surprise us if Halo: The Master Chief Collection was upgraded with some level of ray tracing. The addition of ray-traced lighting and shadows might prove to be a serious undertaking, however, as the games primarily rely on baked lighting for their environments.
Halo 4, the final component of Halo: The Master Chief Collection for PC, is currently in flight (closed beta testing). That means the package should be fully complete and rounded out by the end of the month.