The final game in The Master Chief Collection will be playable for the first time on PC this month. With ODST out the door, 343 Industries is now getting Halo 4 ready for its debut, which means more public tests.
Halo 4 ‘flighting’, as 343 Industries calls it, is expected to start this month, though a specific date has yet to be announced. The first test will focus on putting some new features and quality of life improvements through their paces and gathering feedback.
There’s the updated Forge, new customisation options, challenges and the new additions coming with Season 4, along with stuff that will impact all the games in the collection, like input-based matchmaking, crossplay, regional server selection and the ability to select what text channels you see.
Some campaign missions will be playable, as well Spartan Ops with different difficulty levels, co-op and singleplayer. On the multiplayer side, expect a bunch of maps and playlists, including custom, social and competitive games. So far, only the social games have been announced, letting you muck around in 4v4, 8v8, 8-player Free For All and 12-player Infection.
Testers will be able to fiddle around with plenty of PC-specific options, like the FOV and HUD anchoring, as well as configurable mouse and keyboard or gamepad controls.
If you’ve not tried to get into previous Halo flights, you’ll need to sign up to become a Halo Insider, and this time joining will guarantee a spot. 343 Industries says that, since this is the final game in the collection, it wants to make it available to everyone during the testing phase. Other “incentives” are also being looked into for players who help out.