Halo: Reach, Bungie’s latest Halo game released on the Xbox 360 back in September 2010 is relaunching today on Xbox One and Windows PCs. The prequel to the 2001 game Halo: Combat Evolved is the first Halo title to launch on Halo: The Master Chief Collection for PC, which is now available on Steam and the Windows 10 Microsoft Store.
A lot of PC gamers are apparently excited about Halo games coming back to PC, as Halo: MCC is currently the top-selling game on Steam. The Halo: MCC anthology is currently priced at $39.99 on both Steam and the Microsoft Store, and developers 343 Industries is expected to release PC ports of Halo: CE, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo 4 over the course of 2020. “As the team launches Halo: Reach today, we’re already working on the framework and plans to kick off public flighting of the next PC release – Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary – in early 2020,” 343 Industries said today.
Halo: Reach can also be purchased separately for just $9.99 on PC and console. Keep in mind that you can also play the game for free today with Xbox Game Pass for PC or console. For a limited time, you can get 3 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for just $1, which will give you access to Halo: MCC on both Windows 10 and Xbox One.
Unfortunately, the Microsoft Store version of Halo: MCC doesn’t support Xbox Play Anywhere or cross-play between Xbox One and PC, though cross-saves between the two platforms is there. As of today, cross-play is only supported between the Microsoft Store and Steam version of Halo: Reach, and 343 Industries previously said that it’s still debating extending crossplay to Xbox One gamers.
Halo: Reach tells the story of the Noble Team, a group of Spartan supersoldiers desperately trying to protect the Earth-like colony Reach from a Covenant alien attack. The game is a bit different from other Halo games featuring Master Chief. Noble Six, the character you control in Halo: Reach is more vulnerable and has to use health packs to replenish his health. Fortunately, there are many sections of the solo campaign where you’ll be aided by your charismatic brothers in arms from the Noble team.
It’s easy to forget that Microsoft released Halo: CE and Halo 2 on Windows more than 10 years ago, but it feels great to play Halo: Reach on PC. Even the game didn’t get the proper remaster treatment like Halo 2 did a couple of years ago, the PC version supports 4K UHD graphics and lots of customization options.
In the latest MCC Development update, 343 Industries mentioned that the PC version is launching today with an experimental implementation of variable frame rate (VFR), and some features such as File Share, Forge, and Theater will be available at a later date. The team also just launched a new Halo Support website, which should be a useful resource for any post-launch issues.
