The Master Chief Collection celebrates 20 years of Halo with Xbox throwbacks going back to 1999

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Over a dozen cosmetics will be released throughout the winter

Halo: The Master Chief Collection
(Image credit: 343 Industries)

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is dishing out throwback cosmetics to celebrate the series' 20th anniversary, and it's starting with the first Spartan armor set ever shown to the public. 

Way back in 1999, Apple's Steve Jobs revealed Halo – which, at the time, was just a bunch of vague ideas propped up by a very carefully edited trailer – before Microsoft bought Bungie and positioned Halo: Combat Evolved as the big Xbox launch title. And it was that 1999 reveal that gave us the chunky Orion armor which has now been revived as a Halo 2 cosmetic in The Master Chief Collection. 

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

(Image credit: 343 Industries)

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

(Image credit: 343 Industries)

The aptly titled Duke shoulder armor and Beast backpack, both based on the original Xbox hardware, are definitely among the best cosmetics in this lineup. That console was built like a tank, and the bulky Duke controller has lived on through special edition Xbox controllers, so it's only fitting to see them armor the Spartans that helped launch the Xbox brand. Halo 3 fans are especially fortunate, as most of these skins and items stem from the halcyon days of 2007 – arguably one of the best years for video games altogether as well as the Halo series. 

You can check out a few other items, including a stunning Microsoft Office Clippy nameplate, over on Halo Waypoint. Patch notes for today's anniversary update are also live.

The latest Halo Infinite trailer smacks more than a little of the beloved Finish the Fight commercials for Halo 3.

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.