The Anniversary edition of Halo: Combat Evolved is now available on PC through Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
Developer 343 Industries released a teaser for the Anniversary edition just yesterday, but today's surprise Steam launch is still, well, a surprise. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is the second piece of the Master Chief Collection to make it to PC after Halo Reach in December 2019, and while it uses the fancy-pants 2011 remaster as a base, it's been further optimized for 4K output, 60 FPS, ultrawide resolutions, and other PC bells and whistles.
Like other remastered Halo games, the Anniversary edition lets you switch between traditional and remastered graphics. It also includes the original multiplayer mode, complete with all 19 maps and an updated progression system. It's time to go back to Blood Gulch, people.
The Master Chief Collection will continue to roll out throughout the year. Halo 2, Halo 3 (and seemingly Halo 3: ODST), and Halo 4 are all scheduled to launch by the end of 2020, so we should expect to see approximately one game per quarter. As a reminder, if you buy the collection itself for $40, you'll get access to every game and multiplayer mode as they're released. You can also buy individual games for $10 apiece, assuming the pricing remains the same for the rest of the collection.
In other Halo news, Microsoft recently confirmed that Halo Infinite will be available on Xbox Game Pass at launch. And if you decide to buy it on Xbox One, you'll get it on Xbox Series X for free. If you're still looking for all the Halo: CE collectibles, take a look at our Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Skull and Terminal Guide.
