Halo 2: Anniversary is joining Halo: The Master Chief Collection for Windows PC on May 12, developer 343 Industries announced Tuesday. It follows Halo: Reach and Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.
Halo 2: Anniversary is an HD remastered version of Halo 2, which rolled out on the official Xbox in 2004. It includes the first overhaul to the game's visuals in addition to the soundtrack and sound effects. Halo 2: Anniversary also lets in customers to switch back and forth from the original pictures to the up to date visuals in the marketing campaign mode.
Earth will never be the same.
Halo 2: Anniversary arrives on PC as part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection on May 12! https://t.co/y5NHDTiQ1E pic.twitter.com/HVzgxIuY8V — Halo (@Halo) May 5, 2020
'Halo: The Master Chief Collection' on PC is still growing
The game developer began testing its public beta for Halo 2: Anniversary in April, which was open to Halo Insider participants. Halo: The Master Chief Collection for PC was introduced in March 2019, and the developer's been rolling out releases since. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary was launched in March. The rest of the games - Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo 4 - are expected to begin before the year's end.
A PC version of The Master Chief Collection was launched in late 2019, though it only included Halo: Reach during launch. Combat Evolved Anniversary has also been added, and Microsoft plans to add the rest of the video games for the rest of the year.
Halo 2: Anniversary's solo game and multiplayer modes can be played through Anniversary's fancied-up visuals or those from the original Halo 2 and other games in the Master Chief Collection on PC. There's support for 4k UHD, 60+ FPS, and ultra-wide monitors, plus customizable mouse and keyboard, and adjustable FOV.
Halo 2 became one of the most influential games of its console era when it was released online. Halo 2 was also the first hugely popular online multiplayer games. It gathered numerous gamers online and becoming considered one of Microsoft's flagship titles for online gaming.
Its multiplayer proved to be so popular that even after the release of the Xbox 360, the game was supported until Microsoft announced it would end support for the original Xbox Live in 2010.
Where to download the game?
Those Halo enthusiasts wanting everything on PC can either play the Halo: Master Chief Collection via Xbox Game Pass on PC or should purchase it for £29.99/$39.99 USD on Steam and the Microsoft Store. Halo 2: Anniversary will also be sold separately if it follows the sequence by Halo: Reach and Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. Both featured a standalone price of £6.99/$9.99 USD.
Microsoft reiterated on Monday, May 4, that it intends to launch Xbox Series X by holiday season this year. The company also said the next Halo game, Halo Infinite, remains on track and would be launched together with the gaming hardware.
Following delays to software release, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said the game production remains a "bigger unknown" than the Series X hardware due to complications caused by a coronavirus.
