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.
Comments 13
I love Halo and this is a great package as it is now but holy smokes has it been messy getting it here.
I guess it is a good micro-view of Xbox as a whole with an opportunity squandered with not enough emphasis placed on quality out the door because they can fix it later.
Shame they have never released a finished article for collectors too. A collectors edition with all 6 games on the disc(s) and some memorabilia would have been amazing. The original disc version is not much more than a coaster these days.
I remember seeing an ad in Modern Family with Phil (a character on the show, not Spencer) excitedly playing Halo MCC at one point. I don't know how or why MCC started so wrong but I'm glad they didn't just throw it aside and let it wither away. I'm really not even a Halo fan and I still ended up grabbing it on both PC and Xbox just because of how well supported the game has been.
One of the finest collections in my library and I simply love the games in the collection.
However it was a mess for far too long. It really set the stage for all of Microsoft's first party releases for the last decade. Unfinished and half baked at launch. I hope to see improvement with the release of the new Indiana Jones game and hopefully the new Perfect Dark.
@SodaPop6548
I do agree with what you are saying but in Perfect Dark and Indiana Jones you are comparing single player only experiences (at least that is only what is announced so far) with single + co-op + multi-player experiences.
It is one thing to build a collection of single player experiences but it is yet another to take a bunch of co-op + multi-player experiences over a decade in the making and trying to mash them into one collection. I still think MS should've did better, but it was not an easy task and if you think about it that is still one of the only collections out there that combined many different single, co-op, multi-player experiences into a single game experience.
Started a mess and ended a mess, all but a select few Game Modes are populated and now it has a ton of hackers.
Man...I remember when MCC launched, and the hit detection was horrendous. "Hmmm...shots seem to count more reliably when you aim at the empty space above the player's head..." LOL
That game has come a long way. Halo: Infinite MP was in far, far better shape when it launched.
@NeoRatt I'll be really disappointed if the new Perfect Dark doesn't support co-op and multiplayer. Those were key features of the original game for me.
This collection reminds me of one of those ‘learn to draw’ videos on YouTube by a professional artist. The sketch is crude and unappealing in the beginning, just a rough outline that barely resembles what it’s supposed to. But by the end, it looks remarkably polished. I only wish these were on disc for those of us who infinitely prefer to own, not rent. Oh, and good achievements instead of the horrendous, achievement-hunter-unfriendly slop they forced down our throats.
I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but it still is kind of a mess. There are still a few glitches, one of the worst one is a level ending bug in Halo 4 where you have to ride the Mammoth and the canyon floor disappears.
Also, so many things have been added to it that the menus are more confusing than helpful.
I still wish that Xbox had just decided to make Halo 1 and 2 backwards compatible. The fact that they delisted all the 360 Halo games to force us to treat MCC as the definitive version is a bitter pill to swallow.
Sorry, I'm done being negative.
P.S. I really do love Halo and appreciate how much work was done to fix the collection.
@Medic_alert great point. I’d buy another physical copy of the MCC with all of the games with the latest patch. As you are right I bought that game at launch. I didn’t realize it has been this long to be honest.
I played it only years after launch. It's on par if not superior to the Orange Box in terms of value. Absolutely fantastic package, being able to switch seamlessly between old and new graphics for older games is a great feature, and the Bungie era still retains its magic.
@theduckofdeath and that’s ironic since the MCC averages more players on steam than infinite does 😂
It's great to see turnarounds by small indie studios like Hello Games with No Man's Sky and 343 with MCC Collection. Even with their limited resources unable to finish the game by release, with years of hard work both were able to turn it around. Inspiring.
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