Microsoft has finally announced when it plans to bringHalo 2: Anniversary, the next installment inHalo: The Master Chief Collection, to Windows 10 PCs. The game will join the collection on May 12th and will be available from the Microsoft Store and Steam, while also being part of Xbox Game Pass for PC.
Halo 2: Anniversaryis the remaster ofHalo 2that first released on Xbox One as a part of the originalMaster Chief Collectionback in 2014. The remaster, which includes fullyreworked visuals, remade cutscenes and a rearranged soundtrack, was co-developed by 343 Industries and Saber Interactive, the studio behind 2019’sWorld War Z, as well as many impressive Nintendo Switch ports such asThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete EditionandVampyr. The remaster also features a function that allows fans to instantly switch between the original Xbox game’s visuals, bumped up to 4K resolutions and higher frame-rates, and the Xbox One remaster, similar toHalo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.
RELATED:Halo Infinite Release Date Still on Track
While this isn’t the first timeHalo 2has seen a release to PC, this is the arrival ofHalo: The Master Chief Collectionmarks Microsoft and 343 Industries' first attempts at bringing all six of the main series Halo titles and their remasters to PC,starting with the release ofHalo: Reachin 2019. This later lead to the release ofHalo: Combat Evolved Anniversaryfor PC on March 3rd 2020, and while both ports were met with some criticism at launch, the developer has continued to update them into what has become to definitive way to experience theHalogames.
It’s unknown whenHalo 3will be released. While one could assume the turnaround for bringingHalo 3,Halo 3: ODSTandHalo 4to PC may take less time than their predecessors, given that they were never given the ‘Anniversary’ treatmentlike the first two entries, Microsoft and 343 Industries certainly have a lot going on with the impending releases of the Xbox Series X andHalo Infiniteon the horizon.
Thankfully, it seems fans won’t have to wait too much longer to play Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST on PC, as 343 Industriesrecently posted screenshots of the portsin a development update in April. It’s likely we will even see the ports mentioned as part of Microsoft’s recently announced Xbox 20/20, a series of announcements regarding the future of Xbox taking place every month for the rest of 2020.
Halofans on PC will surely have their hands full for a while, however, asHalo 2is one of the most critically acclaimed first-person shooters of all time, and often regarded as the game thatsingle-handedly defined console multiplayer gamingas a landmark title for both the Xbox and Xbox Live.
Halo 2: AnniversaryjoinsHalo: The Master Chief Collectionfor PC on May 12th.
