Earlier today, during this month’s Inside Xbox live stream, Microsoft finally announced that they are bringing Halo: The Master Chief Collection to PC via the Windows Store and, for the first time, Steam. Along with this, Halo: Reach is set to finally be added to the collection as well. According to Halo Waypoint, for PC, the games will release one by one starting with Halo: Reach then moving along releasing the games in chronological order of the series over the course of the year.
According to the Halo Waypoint post, the move to not release the full collection simultaneously in favor of one by one releases is so Microsoft can give “the development teams the ability to ensure each one is right” and will give “players a chance to jump in right away, rather than having to wait for the entire suite of games to be completed.” This is set to allow for each game to be a true “first class” experience on PC.
Since it is being added to the collection, Halo: Reach is planned to release in an interesting way to players. On Xbox One, the game’s multiplayer will be added free of charge to those who own Halo: The Master Chief Collection already. Following this, the game’s Campaign and Firefight modes will be released as premium add on content. However, no price has been given for these modes as of yet. For players that own the collection through Xbox Game Pass, the entirety of the game, all three modes, will be added to the collection as part of the subscription service with no additional fee. For the game’s PC release, all three modes will be together in one package for purchase.
Halo: Reach was the last entry in the series developed by the series’ original developer Bungie before the studio split from Microsoft. Microsoft briefly considered letting Gearbox Software take over the franchise before pivoting and forming 343 Industries to helm the franchise starting with Halo 4. 343 Industries next entry in the series, Halo: Infinite, is already confirmed to be at E3 this year, and is set to come to Xbox One upon release.
You can check out the full PC announcement trailer for Halo: The Master Chief Collection below: