2020 has very much been the year of Halo on PC. After Halo: Reach launched in December, giving us our first taste of the series—aside from Halo Wars—since 2003, 343 Industries promptly released the remasters of the first trilogy, and there's still more to come before this otherwise terrible year concludes.
In the latest development update for The Master Chief Collection, 343's Tyler Davis announced that Halo 3: ODST testing was poised to begin for Halo Insiders in the first half of August, accompanied by an update for Halo 3 that will tackle hit detection.
The first test is expected to include six campaign missions in singleplayer and co-op, updated customisation and new Firefight features. The wave-based Firefight mode was introduced in ODST originally and continued in Reach. The MCC version will come with asynchronous networking, dedicated servers, matchmaking and more custom game options, though not quite as many as you can find in Reach.
Davis also teased some of the new features coming to the collection this year. At the top of the list is crossplay, which 343 is planning to release alongside input-based matchmaking and server region selection. Other features include Steam account linking, a custom game browser and PC filesharing.
Here's the full list:
- Crossplay
- Input based MM
- Sever region selection
- Custom game browser
- Per game graphics options
- Per game audio options
- M&K support for Xbox
- PC fileshare
- Double keybinds for all games
- Viewmodel adjustments for all games
- In game FPS cap/adjustments
- Steam account linking
As well as putting the old games on PC for the first time, 343 is getting ready to launch Halo Infinite this winter. We got our first look at the campaign during last month's Xbox Games Showcase, and it was recently confirmed that the multiplayer will be free-to-play. The coronavirus has made it trickier for the developer to organise large-scale tests, but it's still hoping to host a public hands-on before launch.
