Microsoft Explains Why Halo: Master Chief Collection Isn't Coming to PC

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"We wanted to do a great job on console."

 

 

 

This November's Xbox One bundle, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, is currently only due for release on the next-gen console. But could it come to PC some day? It hasn't been ruled out, but Microsoft says the Xbox One version is the company's main focus right now

"We've definitely heard the questions about PC," 343 Industries executive producer Dan Ayoub told Kotaku. "Right now we're a couple months out from the Xbox version's release, and that's our main focus right now. That's quite honestly where all our headspace is right now."

"We wanted to do a great job on console" -- 343 Industries exec. producer Dan Ayoub

Ayoub went on to say that porting past-generation games to new platforms may not sound like the most difficult thing to do, but for The Master Chief Collection, the scope of the project was so large that taking on two versions at once--Xbox One and PC--would have been tricky.

"From a technical standpoint, you look at the architecture of the Xbox One and there are some similarities to the architecture of a modern PC," he said. "That certainly makes that sort of cross-platform development easier. But beyond that the ease goes away. Master Chief Collectionis massive. We have to coordinate four games, 100-plus maps, a lot of new cinematics, and Halo 2 Anniversary."

Due to the scope of the project, Ayoub said 343 Industries had to decide how best to appropriate its resources, which meant leading with Xbox One.

"We wanted to do a great job on console," Ayoub said. "The anchor of Halo: Master Chief Collection is the ten-year anniversary of Halo 2 on console. So our approach was to focus primarily on console as a result of that."

 

Finally, Ayoub made it clear that the appeal of the PC platform--its huge install base and modding support--is not lost on 343 Industries.

"That's one of the things I love about the PC community. You've got so many cool things going on [with fans]," he said. "And then you've got the breadth; PCs are everywhere all over the planet. Obviously as part of Microsoft PCs are part of our business. When you look at that market and community, there's almost limitless possibilities in terms of what we can do."

It's not much of a surprise that The Master Chief Collection is coming only to Xbox One; after all, it is one of Microsoft's biggest Xbox One exclusives for this year and is no doubt seen as a potential system-seller. If it were to come to PC right out of the gate, gamers would have less of an incentive to buy an Xbox One.

A retail listing for a PC version of The Master Chief Collection appeared last month, but Microsoft was quick to shoot this down, saying the product page was posted in error.

In addition to the remastered versions of the numbered Halo games, The Master Chief Collection includes access to Ridley Scott's live-action show Halo: Nightfall. Buying the bundle will also secure you a spot in the Halo 5: Guardians beta, which runs December 29-January 19.

 

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