There’s a ton of new games arriving in October and November, but December belongs to the Master Chief. The original adventures starring that stoic hero are getting a visual bump for the Xbox One, and could most likely be the perfect entry point for gamers interested in Halo. But what about PC gamers? Why aren’t they getting any of that Games For Windows love? Turns out, Master Chief isn’t made for PC fun times.
"We’ve definitely heard the questions about PC," executive producer Dan Ayoub said to Kotaku. "Right now we’re a couple months out from the Xbox version’s release, and that’s our main focus right now. That’s quite honestly where all our headspace is right now."
But while porting the original games over from Xbox and Xbox 360 may be easier, it’s the massive size of the project that has proved to be too daunting to handle on two platforms at the same time. Remember, that’s four games, that need to be optimised. "From a technical standpoint, you look at the architecture of the Xbox One and there are some similarities to the architecture of a modern PC," Ayoubi explained.
That certainly makes that sort of cross-platform development easier. But beyond that the ease goes away. Master Chief Collection is massive. We have to coordinate four games, 100-plus maps, a lot of new cinematics, and Halo 2 Anniversary.
And unfortunately PC gamers, this remaster is meant for consoles first and foremost. That’s just the way it is. 343 Industries could either make the collection for PC or Xbox One, Ayoub said. But Xbox One took priority at the end of the day. "We wanted to do a great job on console," Ayoub said.
The anchor of Halo: Master Chief Collection is the ten-year anniversary of Halo 2 on console. So our approach was to focus primarily on console as a result of that.
This doesn’t mean that there is no possibility of Master Chief ever popping up to blast alien scum on PC, in the future. It could one day happen. But the Xbox One needs that kind of game collection more than PC right now. Simple as that. Besides, even if the game was releasing on PC, folks would find something to criticise about that move anyway.
Last Updated: September 19, 2014
Alien Emperor Trevor
September 19, 2014 at 14:21
Halo is a game? I thought it was a crappy song. Could never understand why console gamers raved about it.
RinceThis
September 19, 2014 at 14:26
“Halo, halo, halo, is there anybody in there?”
GooseZA
September 19, 2014 at 14:30
Halo, is it me you’re looking for?
RinceThis
September 19, 2014 at 14:31
Halo Matron!
Viking Of Science
September 19, 2014 at 14:32
not all Halo’s are bad…
http://youtu.be/cFerqOU1iWU
Skyblue
September 19, 2014 at 14:45
Aaah, the non-believers ;-p It really is a rich universe with some pretty cool experiences. Watch Halo – Forward Unto Dawn to get an idea (a cheap idea) of what it’s like.
Alien Emperor Trevor
September 19, 2014 at 15:01
hehe – I actually did play Halo 1. It was okay ;P
Admiral Chief o' thar 7 Seas
September 19, 2014 at 15:07
I liked H1 as well.
Corrie Botha
September 19, 2014 at 15:07
Actually found a copy of halo 2 for 45 bucks the other day ,lol cheap gaming, yet to play it though
Skyblue
September 20, 2014 at 08:36
The games are far better on console than PC. I am a PC FPS gamer first and foremost and Halo felt very empty on PC because I wasn’t fighting with the controls. I guess I was a lot less bored on the console version due to that.
The remastered versions of the game look and sound stunning though.
UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy
September 19, 2014 at 14:27
lol yeah sure THAT’s why… xD
Labey-Kun
September 19, 2014 at 14:30
Was awesome growing up with Halo, man the years have flown.
Viking Of Science
September 19, 2014 at 14:31
It’s funny, how his armour goes from Green to grey as technology got “better”
GooseZA
September 19, 2014 at 14:33
I’m actually quite keen to pick this up. I’ve never played a Halo game (*gasp*) and always wanted to see what the fuss is about.
Alien Emperor Trevor
September 19, 2014 at 14:34
The anchor is the 10-year anniversary of Halo 2 on console? That means PC will get it in 2017. The 10-year anniversary of Halo 2 on PC… right?
OVGrounded new game+++
September 19, 2014 at 14:41
CHOOOOO CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
All aboard the NEW HYPE TRAIN
DESTINY KILLER!!!
CHOOOOOOO CHOOOOOOO
Skyblue
September 19, 2014 at 14:46
I’m shopping next week so I guess that even though these have been released before I will be picking this up (when released). Four Halo titles redone and in one collection, sounds good to me.
Corrie Botha
September 19, 2014 at 15:20
So in other words Microsoft has kinda told them to release only on the Xbone because they hardly have any games at the moment and releasing on PC would make a Xbone even more irrelevant than it is now.
Lardus-Resident Perve
September 19, 2014 at 15:32
I would play it on the PC. Got Halo 4 with my 360 – still sealed. I just do not really like shooting games on console. Maybe I should give it a go if I get the XBone…or skip it if I get the PS4…