After many years, Halo is coming back to the PC in a big way. Not only is Halo Infinite, the latest installment in the iconic franchise, coming day and date to PC, most of the previous games will also be making the jump via The Master Chief Collection. And PC players could be getting a taste of that as soon as next week, with a potential beta of Halo Reach.

Halo Reach was announced to be coming to the collection earlier in the year. The PC version of the game was said to be getting a beta soon, and it looks like that could be next week. In the latest Halo Waypoint blog post, 343 Industries says they are aiming to launch it by then, though stopped short of making an official announcement or date.

Wrote the developer: “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).”

So fingers crossed they managed to get it primed and ready for next week. The Master Chief Collection is planned to come out some time this year for PC, and is available now for Xbox One.

Dr. Breen – Half Life 2

When the Combine came down to take earth, it was the diplomacy of Dr. Breen that ensured that the human race would survive, if as a slave race to the aliens. Or were his intentions so noble? The unsettling tone and persona of Dr. Breen and his convenient appointment to Earth’s Administrator by the Combine really lean into suggesting that the good doctor screwed you and all of humanity for his own, selfish ends of ruling earth, even if it is as a defacto leader.

When 343 Industries first launched the highly anticipated Halo: Master Chief Collection for Xbox One, it was one of the biggest disappointments in the young life of the console for launching as a buggy mess. But the Xbox One X has given the developers a second chance to give MCC a new lease on life, which they’re now asking for community feedback on.

On the Official Halo Waypoint, Community manager Brian ‘Ske7ch’ Jarrard has called for fans to share their wishlist of features for the game, with the caveat that just because it’s asked for, doesn’t mean it can be implemented. The exercise is just to see what the community wants, and then the team can compare that to what they can deliver. “Again – please do not assume that any of these features would ever make it to MCC,” said Jarrard.

The post also addressed that what would likely be the top suggestion, improved matchmaking and network stability, is already well underway, along with dedicated servers and the previously promised Xbox One X enhancements. What do you want to see changed about MCC? Let us know in the comments.

Those of you who have bought Halo: The Master Chief Collection and have start to play the multiplayer would know by now that the matchmaking is quite deplorable, so much so that players would wait literally for hours hoping to get matched with other players, with no results. However the developers has heard their pleas and issued an update which would remove several playlists which in turn would cut down on the waiting time.

Team Hardcore, Rumble Pit, Halo 4 and SWAT (rotational) are the few playlists that have been cut. 343 Industries had this to say: “This concentrated playlist layout will allow players to get into matches faster, and improve overall match times. While we anticipate that concentrating our players into fewer playlists will have an effect on match times, it will not solve all Matchmaking issues. We are currently investigating CUs and server side tweaks over the next week to address matchmaking issues.”

Players can look forward to a content update which will be released tomorrow, which will fix scoring and states, as well as a minor fix for team skill matching. However if you cannot wait, then the developers recommend that you quit and try again if you are stuck in matchmaking for more than five minutes.

Source: Halo Waypoint.

Thus far, 343 Industries have been doing a very good job of baiting their hooks with wopping, big, wriggly lumps of nostalgia. Obviously, it all started with the introduction and announcement of the Halo Master Chief Collection and since then they’ve built on this with additional vehicles (a Gungoose…and I wish I was making that up), fancy textures and better yet,  Blood Gulch.

Now however, we have a remake of the Blood Gulch remake! Once called Coagulation we now have Bloodline and it boasts long lines of sight for the sharpshooter in you, sweeping turns for keeping up speed on your Gungoose to help dodge the inevitable incoming rocket fire and little terrain bumps that make for great gun battles.

If you’ve ever touched Halo’s competitive multiplayer, and who hasn’t, you will already know that the map is build to be balanced but it still strikes a happen balance between gameplay and pacing. If you don’t believe me, then watch the video!