Microsoft announced Halo: The Master Chief Collection for PC earlier this year, promising a remastered saga spanning REACH to Halo 4 for the first time as a renewed commitment to the platform already bolstered by the Xbox Game Pass for PC. Progress has been laboured, with numerous delays in public test builds, but at the November 14th Xbox Live event the first instalment's release date was finally revealed.
Halo: REACH will arrive on December 3rd, optimised for PC and with support for 4K 60fps gameplay and the full gamut of setting customisation options. Both the Campaign and Multiplayer will be available from the get-go; and although Forge and Theatre will lag this launch a little, an immense selection of legacy user-created maps will be accessible.
As the first part of the Halo Saga chronologically, REACH is core to the $39.99/£29.99 Halo: The Master Chief Collection*, which will also net you the subsequent remastered titles and other content as it rolls out in 2020 and beyond. The remastering process is a marathon rather than a sprint however, so don't expect them to be precisely fast-paced.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection is sold though the Windows Store and, somewhat unexpectedly, Steam. Subscribers to the XBOX Game Pass for PC service will also be able to play Halo: REACH on December 3rd, adding yet more value to the already very reasonable service. More detailed information on development progress and updates for the Halo PC remaster can be found at Halo Waypoint.
* NB: Both the Windows Store and Steam also list Halo: REACH separately for £6.99, but state that the 'Halo: The Master Chief Collection' is required for play and explicitly listing it as DLC. We're therefore not comfortable with suggesting that it's available as a standalone purchase just yet, despite the accompanying official blog post suggesting they can be bought 'a la carte'.
