Halo over PC gamers

By Digital News Asia June 2, 2016

Halo multiplayer for PC gamers
Only for Windows 10 customers

AFTER ignoring PC gaming for years and promoting its Xbox console, Microsoft is now desperate to woo PC gamers again. But it still cannot quite bring itself to treat PC gamers on the same footing as Xbox owners.

Microsoft and its Halo developer, 343 Industries, have announced Forge – Halo 5: Guardians Edition, which they say will launch for free across Windows 10 "later this year."

This limited free version of Halo 5 will not include the game's single player campaign. Nor will it include multiplayer matchmaking with random opponents. However, the free Windows 10 game will support unfettered online play with anyone on a player's friends list.

That means players can create or download a Forge map and invite anyone else playing the Windows 10 version to join in and play to whatever "kill count," time limit, or other win condition they've set. Microsoft says that this friends-only multiplayer mode in Windows 10 will fully support mouse-and-keyboard game controls.

So in other words, Microsoft will be offering PC gamers a cut-down Halo 5 experience – exactly what we should expect from a schizophrenic company torn between two competing platforms.

Halo's Forge mode allows players to build content-filled maps and lay down a litany of custom rules and modifiers for the game. This Windows 10 version will allow people to do the same thing on their PCs, complete with mouse and keyboard support that 343 Industries says will be "easier/faster" to use than an Xbox controller.

The announcement also confirms support for resolutions up to 4K and the ability to publish Windows 10 creations for play on the game's Xbox One version, but there's no mention of cross-platform multiplayer.

Microsoft has also confirmed that this build of Halo 5 will use DirectX 12.

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