Talking Point: 10 Years On, It's Been A Mighty Turnaround For Halo: Master Chief Collection

All the way back in 2014, Microsoft had a killer lineup planned for the second year of Xbox One. The team had the likes of Forza Horizon 2 and Sunset Overdrive bringing brand-new experiences to players at the start of the last generation, but it was one title in particular that led the charge for Xbox that year - Halo: The Master Chief Collection. And, well, 10 years later we've been thinking about just how far this collection of classics has come since late 2014.

If you cast your mind all the way back to that year in Xbox land, there was tons of hype behind Halo: MCC - and why wouldn't there be?! We were getting a jam-packed collection of classic Halo games coming to a console that, at the time, didn't support backwards compatibility - for just $60. Not only that, but 343 Industries was working on an innovative system that allowed players to completely mix and match different campaign levels, multiplayer maps, you name it... into custom playlists.

Of course, the game's launch day story is as well-told as any in the world of Xbox; Halo: The Master Chief Collection just didn't work properly on release. Sure, it was an okay experience if you merely wanted to tackle the game's campaigns again in solo play at higher frame rates, but multiplayer was completely broken - across both campaign co-op and PvP matches. To top it off, the game took months and months to be properly fixed - it was a PR nightmare for 343 and Team Xbox at the time.

However, after some freebies and bonuses like the one mentioned above — and a whole load of patches and updates to get the game in ship shape — Halo: MCC eventually took on a life of its own. After what seemed like an impossibly difficult launch for all involved, this collection has been extremely well supported for the last decade - it's even still getting updates in 2024. We're not excusing that 2014 launch by any means, but you can't deny Xbox's support for this Halo collection over the years.

One of the biggest wins we've seen from this game since launch is its native support for Xbox Series X|S. Nowadays such support feels a little more common, but at one stage, a 2014 game getting a full-on next-gen update for a 2020 console would have been a crazy idea - yet that's what 343 delivered a few years ago, complete with 120FPS support and a whole lot more besides. Seriously, the current-gen version of Halo: MCC is fantastic!

Of course, it's also tough to forget the game's PC version, and how that's taken on a life of its own over the years as well. Naturally, we're talking cool little mods and such for Halo: MCC on PC, but even just the fact that all of this classic Halo goodness was dropped onto PC platforms five years ago is a pretty massive thing. Remember, this was before Microsoft had a chance to ship a brand-new Halo game day and date on PC - that came two years later with Halo: Infinite. In 2024, The Master Chief Collection has over 200K user reviews on Steam - amounting to a 'Very Positive' rating overall.

Looking back, then, it hasn't always been an easy road for Halo: The Master Chief Collection - but we applaud Xbox and 343 for sticking with this one through thick and thin. We won't excuse such a poor launch, but the teams more than made good on the original promise of this classic collection; further enhanced by ports to both PC and Xbox Series X|S. Halo: MCC is now more than 10 years old, and it remains a great way to catch people up on the history of Xbox's most famous franchise of all.

How do you feel about Halo: MCC's journey over the years? Talk to us all about it down below.