Halo 5: Guardians is finally making its way to PC after 11 years, but not in the way fans might expect. To this day, Halo 5: Guardians remains the only mainline release without a PC port, and was never bundled alongside The Master Chief Collection as a way to bring it to the platform.
Halo 5’s lack of a PC port is particularly odd given Xbox’s focus on the platform in recent years. Every now and then, rumors would pop up about the prospect of a Halo 5 PC port, but these were usually quickly debunked as false. It is uniquely strange because Halo 5‘s Forge mode was released standalone on PC, allowing players to create maps which could then be played on the Xbox version of the game. So 343 Industries got the engine working on PC, but for whatever reason, never made a full port.
Halo 5 Reforged Project is Finally Bringing the Game to PC
Thanks to a new project called Halo 5 Reforged, gamers will soon be able to play the entire game on PC. Building on the game’s existing PC foundation, Halo 5 Reforged intends to bring the full campaign and multiplayer experience to PC, including Warzone. It will even include Spartan customization, just like the base game. It’s undoubtedly an ambitious project, but one that is sure to have fans excited.
Find the odd one out before the timer hits zero.
Long-term, the developer of Halo 5 Reforged has lofty aims. While getting Halo 5‘s campaign, multiplayer, and Warzone working from start to finish is a starting point, LAN and mod support are the long-term goals. Right now, there is no planned release date for the project, “so no milestone is being presented as a finished release.”
Halo 5: Guardians was 343 Industries’ second attempt at a mainline release in the series. Where Halo 4 was praised for its story and criticized for its multiplayer, Halo 5 was the polar opposite. Most agreed the multiplayer was a huge improvement, but the campaign drew criticism after an infamous marketing campaign left many feeling misled about the story. Its overall legacy is mixed when compared to the best Halo games, but that doesn’t mean fans wouldn’t be happy to see it finally come to PC almost 11 years after its initial release.
The Halo franchise is at a crucial juncture in its history. After years of struggling to find a formula that satisfied fans, Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries) has been pulled from the helm, with Activision taking over Halo‘s mainline releases going forward. It is a dramatic move from Microsoft, one that comes with enormous risk. But if Halo is ever to be the force it once was again, perhaps something dramatic is what was needed.
- Released
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October 17, 2015
- ESRB
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T for Teen: Blood, Mild Language, Violence