Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Each game in The Master Chief Collection received graphical upgrades. Halo 2 received a high-definition redesign of its video, audio and cutscenes to celebrate its tenth anniversary. The game includes access to the live-action series Halo: Nightfall as well as the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta that ran in 2014–15.

Gameplay[edit]

The Master Chief Collection originally consisted of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2 Anniversary, Halo 3, and Halo 4, complete with their full catalog of extras, including all multiplayer maps and gameplay modes.^[3] There have been no story or gameplay changes to the original releases.^[4] The games are first-person shooters with vehicular combat that takes place from a third-person perspective. Each campaign has four difficulty levels and access to gameplay modifiers known as "Skulls".


All four campaign modes can be played alone or cooperatively via split screen or Xbox Live on Xbox One and Series X/S. The Microsoft Windows release does not have split screen capability, but it can be played cooperatively online with Steam friends and Xbox friends.^[5][6]


As in Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2 players can swap between the original and upgraded graphics on the fly. Additions to Halo 2's campaign mode include "Terminals", and new prologue and epilogue cutscenes to link the series for Halo 5's debut.^[3] Since only six of the game's multiplayer maps were remastered, there are two Halo 2 multiplayer modes. The Halo 2 anniversary multiplayer mode uses the six remastered maps, while the standard Halo 2 multiplayer mode includes all of the original game's released maps with a full graphical update but no remastering.^[4] The Collection multiplayer includes Mission Setlists, curated lists of levels selected from throughout the series.^[3]


The Extras menu includes access to live-action video series Halo: Nightfall via the Halo Channel and the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta, until it was removed prior to the game's release.^[7] The compilation features new Achievements, and all difficulty and play modes are unlocked from the start.^[3] The game launched with a total of 4,000 Gamerscore spread across 400 Achievements—the largest amount of Gamerscore given to a game since its introduction.

Release[edit]

On June 9, 2014, Halo: The Master Chief Collection was announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo with a trailer titled "Hunter and the Hunted".^[7][20][21] The trailer was created by animation company Digital Domain, which had previously collaborated on other Halo commercials.^[20][22][23] The trailer recreates a moment from Halo 2, in which the Master Chief rides a bomb into a Covenant ship. It is narrated by Keith David, who voices the Arbiter.^[21] Several other trailers were released prior to launch, showcasing the updated cinematics and Terminals featured in Halo 2: Anniversary, and gameplay from all titles across the collection.^[24][25][26] On October 31, 2014, 343 Industries released a documentary, Remaking the Legend – Halo 2: Anniversary, chronicling the history of Halo 2 and the development of Halo 2: Anniversary; it also features interviews with developers at Bungie and 343 Industries. The documentary was initially broadcast on Twitch, and was later available on the Halo Channel, Xbox Video, and YouTube.^[16][27]


In August 2014, UK retailer Game revealed two special editions of The Master Chief Collection. The "Limited" edition includes a steel book case, a map book, and an in-game modifier, while the "Mjolnir" edition includes all the content from the Limited edition, along with a 1-foot (0.30 m) statue of the Master Chief.^[28] In October 2014, Microsoft announced a white Master Chief Collection Xbox One bundle for Brazil and other "select markets".^[29] A second Xbox One bundle containing the collection was announced for release in the United States during March 2015.^[30]


The collection was released worldwide in November 2014.^[31] 343 Industries confirmed that the collection would be available to download from the Xbox Games Store on the day of release.^[31] A 15-gigabyte patch went live to those who had digitally preordered it through the Xbox Games Store on November 6, 2014.^[32] Players who preordered through the Xbox Games Store also received early access to the "Boom" Skull, which provides double the explosion physics in the Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 campaign mode; it became available to all other users on December 12, 2014.^[31]