Sorry, Mister Chief. With testing for Halo 4 about to begin for The Master Chief Collection on PC, 343 have once again confirmed that their first game will also be The MCC's last - with no plans to bring Halo 5 into Captain Motocross' big ol' bundle. It might have a reputation for being a bit rubs, but that's a weird, Cortana-shaped hold to leave in between the MCC and Infinite's release next year.
]]>Microsoft are the latest to hop on the game-streaming bandwagon, announcing Project xCloud today on the Microsoft Blog - a way to beam Xbox games direct to any device with a fast internet connection. While currently only in internal testing, Microsoft are rolling Xbox One hardware out to Azure datacenters around the world. While Microsoft recommend an Xbox controller (broadly supported via bluetooth), they're working on alternative control setups for other devices, including touchscreens and (presumably) our more humble, less beefy PCs.
]]>With Halo Infinite confirmed for release on PC (Windows 10, at least), it seems that Microsoft are easing up on the stranglehold that has kept the series console-exclusive for so long. The changes might just be retroactive, too, as eagle-eyed folks on Reddit spotted that Halo 5: Guardians is now listed on the Xbox site as being both an Xbox and Windows 10 game, although it's not up yet on the Windows 10 storefront.
]]>Forge! Huah! What is it good for? More than you might think. Halo 5: Forge has arrived free on Windows 10 and while it's not full Halo 5 with the FPS's campaign and all its multiplayer jazz and whatnot, it's more than the level editor it initially seems. I mean, yes, it does have a level editor, but also it also supports 16-player online Halo action with the Arena multiplayer mode and player-made modes and minigames. Forge is a bit like a basic Garry's Mod, and that's no bad thing for a freebie.
]]>Halo 5 might have skipped PC but the Forge creation tools arrive this week. The free release is coming to Windows 10 and contains Forge "along with a host of awesome new features, including mouse and keyboard support, 4k resolution display capability, a brand new content browser that makes showcasing and sharing your creations easier than ever before, and the ability play your creations with friends online". PCGamesN spotted a NeoGAF post from Frank O'Connor, the Halo franchise director, in which he confirms a "custom games browser" post-launch.
]]>Halo 5 itself doesn’t seem to be coming to PC, but the developers have said they’d be bringing the sci-fi shooter’s sandbox editing mode, Forge, to Windows 10. Yesterday they announced the date: September 8. This mode will bring with it map editing and minigame-making using Halo’s bits and bobs, and has already been responsible for things like D-Days and mega beer pong on the Xbox Machine. But crucially, on the PC version, you will also be able to play 16-player custom multiplayer.
]]>Microsoft have not announced that Halo 5 is coming to PC. However, they have announced that the Xbox One shooter's sandbox mode Forge is coming as a free standalone to PC via Windows 10, under the rubbish name Forge – Halo 5: Guardians Edition. It's due "later this year". As I understand it (and I may be wrong!), Forge is a bit like a simpler Garry's Mod. Players can build levels collaboratively online, but also create and play fancier things like minigames. Good? Cool? This might also bring us closer to seeing proper Halo games on PC again.
]]>There's also plenty of chance that 343 Industries' Frank O'Connor was speaking purely theoretically when he claimed that the Xbox-exclusive shooty-bang sequel might head Windowswards, so don't get your powersuited knickers in a twist just yet. But! It's an unusual thing to say about a series which is usually locked inescapably within Xbox's walled garden.
Given that there is a certain amount of Windows 10/Xbox crossover, and we've had recently had some of Microsoft's bi-annual 'no honestly we do care about PC gaming' blather, maybe there is something to this.
]]>I'm beginning to worry that John Halo, main character of Halo: The Adventures of Halo Main Character John Halo, doesn't love us anymore. Once upon a time PC gamers got Halo 1 and Halo 2 - and once upon a more recent time, the middling Halo: Spartan Assault - but we haven't seen a real Halo game in eons. "Pretty please?" we plea, imaginations running wild with green armor men prancing about, pirouetting like cybernetic teenage mutant ninja turtles. And yet, even with Halo: The Master Chief Collection on the way to theoretically get everybody all caught up before Halo 5, developer 343 replies with a noncommittal, "Eh, maybe someday." Le sad.
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