As I discover with every few weeks we spend apart, especially when an event or convention takes place, a lot can happen in a small amount of time. This time, E3 fell right in the middle of our typical cadence, and we've seen a lot more of Halo Infinite and Halo: Reach on PC than ever before. Today's Community Update will do a deep dive into both of those hot topics, and so much more, all within the span of a few thousand words and keystrokes.
At E3 we showed off our second piece of Halo Infinite content in the form of a dramatic story-driven trailer titled, Discover Hope. If you haven't seen it yet for some reason, now's the time to sit down, put on some headphones, and give it a watch.
Along with this trailer, Chris Lee released a blog with the same name that broke down some of what you saw in the trailer and discussed our plan to launch Halo Infinite alongside the next Xbox console, Project Scarlett. Trust me, it is absolutely worth the read.
Since I've seen quite a few people out there ask, "What's been confirmed about Halo Infinite so far?" so I've decided to build out a list and break it all down:
Hopefully this helps clear up some of the confusion and provide answers to at least a few of your questions!
Anytime we have a big announcement, we'll usually create a press kit with screenshots, logos, and cool content that we send to media outlets and then place it on Xbox Wire. For Halo Infinite's trailer and our various E3 news beats, we released a barrage of screenshots, gifs, concept art, and logos all at ridiculous quality. However since that feels a bit tucked away from most of our core fans, like you, our team has shared those same assets right here in the Waypoint Forums. Take advantage of it and snag some new wallpapers today!
While we were busy sharing news at E3, including details on pricing, we also gave the MCC cover art a fresh coat of paint. The background needed a touch up to include Halo 3: ODST and we definitely needed to account for Halo: Reach's upcoming addition. After that we decided to make Master Chief's helmet green and the MCC logo gold, because who doesn't love gold?
We were all about showing not just telling too, and we couldn't wait to hit the show floor to let people play Halo: Reach on PC for the first time.
As ske7ch wrote before our week-long LA adventure would begin, we had a small setup with four stations that would be able to support a campaign demo of Halo: Reach running on PC. We were expecting a modest line for this, as it was just an early work-in-progress demo, but fans showed up en masse to shatter our expectations and created a line so big that it caused problems for the rest of the Xbox Experience. Who would've thought that people wanted Halo on PC?
Those that endured the line and played the demo were given an MCC poster (with the updated design), this clean Noble Team pin, and could even win a Halo: Reach mousepad (which you can now get online).
For those of you who weren't able to join us in-person at E3, be sure to sign up for Halo Insider as we will have a small public flight with this demo next week or swing by a Halo: Outpost Discovery location this summer, as they will also include opportunities to check out work-in-progress builds of Halo: Reach.
If everything goes according to plan, our first flight for Halo: Reach on MCC PC will be next week to a small subsection of registered Halo Insiders. We're starting more modestly because we've got quite a few levers to pull and we want to ensure our delivery pipeline runs smoothly, our communications are clear, and that participants can properly provide their feedback on the build. Since there are so many pieces and levers that need testing, verification, and appropriate approvals, we need to take our time to ensure we're sending out a quality flight to our Halo Insiders. The team has a build which appears to be a strong candidate, but it's still in the middle of going through the test process as I type (and as you read). That said, we're still targeting to release next week and will be sharing the details with the public, so even if you aren't selected for the flight, you'll know what's happening. Stay tuned for more details throughout!
Since our last blog, our Publishing Team has released multiple playlist updates to matchmaking as well as one addressing numerous community-reported bugs. Postums shares the details in the MCC Forum when they drop, so just give it a look if you want to know what's changed recently.
To point out a few highly-requested quality of life improvements our team addressed on June 11, here's a quick list of the patch notes:
Halo: CE
Halo 2
Halo 3
Matchmaking
We've partnered with Red Bull to bring a new type of competition to the Halo scene with a unique marathon-esque tournament format. Their Rise Till Dawn events bring top players to the 99th Floor of Chicago's Willis Tower for a battle of endurance that starts when the sun sets and ends when it rises. Yes, you read that right – this is an all-night event where underperforming or oversleeping could cost you a spot on the pedestal.
When taking a look at the schedule for the tournament, I realized it looks like any normal esports event, but with the "am"s and "pm"s swapped around:
If you are thinking about hopping in and competing in this Halo 3 2v2 tournament, we recommend purchasing your team's tickets as soon as you can since they are going quickly and space will be limited. We hope you enjoy the top-tier pizza and Halo talent in the city that weekend!
Competitive Halo will be in Chicago in July, but in August it'll be heading across the pond thanks to a new partnership with FACEIT for the FACEIT Ignite: Halo European Open. This Halo 3 4v4 event will take place at Twickenham Stadium in London, UK on August 17-18.
I'll be sure to share more details about this event as they become available, but for now just be sure to mark it in your calendars. To keep up to date with the latest developments around this tournament, head to Halo.gg/Ignite2019 and follow @HCS on Twitter!
The HCS Team has also gone through a new phase of applications and unveiled the latest additions to our ever-expanding list of HCS Grassroots Content Creators. Be sure to give each of these dedicated Halo creators a warm welcome to the program and be sure to check out their content!
Since we review and accept content creators in waves, if you want to toss your hat in the ring, you'll want to get ready for the next application window during the month of July. Until then, keep making awesome videos!
The next few weeks of Halo 5 will be packed with some of our best modes, a brand-new playlist, and the testing of Halo 3 Classic Throwback as a ranked rotational playlist during July. Whether it's moving playlists into ranked for a month or bringing back ridiculous playlists like Husky Raid, we're trying to have more fun with Halo 5's online experience. Take a look at the calendar we've outlined below, and let us know what you think in the Matchmaking Feedback & Discussion Forum here on Waypoint!
When I publish the next Community Update, I'll be down in Orlando mentally preparing for the first day of Halo: Outpost Discovery. As the team has shown off more and more of the experiences, I've just gotten more and more excited to jump into the Halo universe and give them all a go.
Since we've all been so eager to see more about these different experiences, the team finally gave us a closer look at three of them. You can read a full blog about each one by clicking on the hyperlinked headers!
Now that we're truly in the thick of it, I'll probably be including this last piece in each Community Update to make sure any and all newcomers are aware of the dates and locations for each Halo: Outpost Discovery appearance. Take your friends and family to this immersive weekend-long Halo event and experience the universe like never before.
If you're at any of these locations and happen to see myself or ske7ch, be sure to stop by and introduce yourself!
To celebrate its first birthday, the Xbox Official Gear store has loaded up with a ton of additional Halo Gear! We've got Halo: Reach, Halo Infinite, and Master Chief on all sorts of apparel (hoodies, t-shirts, long sleeve tees, etc.), and the options are all so good. Dersky approves, but you should also take a look for yourself!
*Cue the dramatic lighting*
The final Halo Legendary Crate of the Noble Team series focuses on the lone wolf himself, Noble Six. Although we said June 15 would be the last day to get your name down for this crate, we've since extended it in order to let the last few stragglers get aboard. Because of this extension, I had the opportunity to sneak in a few pictures of our hyper-lethal friend's Halo Icons figure, and I gotta say that he's lookin' good.
If you want to secure this last Halo Legendary Crate and complete the series, head to loot.cr/Halo today!
The four-issue comic miniseries starring Linda-058 has been turned into a single hardcover book. If you missed my coverage of the series in previous Community Updates, here's the official synopsis:
Sent on a covert mission without the rest of her team, Spartan Linda-058's skills in infiltration and marksmanship are called upon to end the threat posed by a wanted scientist on a distant planet. With only an ONI AI at her side, Linda must fight through both the dregs of the Covenant and the hostility of a lost human settlement to stop the rogue scientist in his tracks.
You can get your copy both in-stores and online starting this upcoming Tuesday, June 25!
This time, I'm going to use this section to remind your about our Halo Infinite press kit here on Waypoint again, which includes a few pieces of concept art from this year's Discover Hope trailer in glorious 4K, screenshots, gifs, logos and more. As always, here are some download links for you to enjoy and share this piece of art!
As usual a lot has happened since our last Community Update and the pace shows no signs of slowing. This week we shared a first-look at Halo: Reach and Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC, continued promotion for our rapidly approaching first stop of Halo: Outpost Discovery, and traveled to Dallas to support a Halo esports event this weekend at DreamHack Dallas via the HCS Grassroots program – and that's just the start.
Over the past three weeks, I've been fortunate enough to go support our events in Orlando, Chicago, and Philadelphia. Although back-to-back-to-back weekends of Halo events is a blast, I think we're just getting started... as this summer is still jam-packed with Halo: Outpost Discovery, esports events, and gaming conventions. Let's take a look at what's coming up in the next few sunny weeks!
Is it me or does 2019 just keep geting better and better? Baseball is back, the sun is breaking through the clouds, and MCC is definitely still coming to PC. With so many cool projects being worked on inside the studio; Halo MCC on PC, continuous MCC updates, and Halo: Outpost Discovery, it just keeps adding to the feeling that we're in for a good year. However, as much as I'd love to write more about all of our plans for this year, let's just take a closer look at all everything happening...
