Dreams of playing Halo: Reach on PC finally came true for a lucky group of players this weekend, but 343 Industries says that some copies of the first flight for Halo: The Master Chief Collection have already been illegally distributed. Understandably, the Halo developer is none too happy, and it promises to respond to this type of player betrayal in kind with hefty bans.
Despite being a Microsoft property, Halo has long been a white whale for the PC crowd. Many PC players likely gave up hope of ever getting official ports of the Xbox-exclusive titles when Halo: The Master Chief Collection (MCC) released in 2014 with nary a peep about a PC release from 343, and that silence lasted for years. However, whispers began gathering into full-blown rumors last year, culminating in an official announcement that a PC port of the MCC was at last in development this March, as well as the fact that Halo: Reach would be coming along with it. Like every game in the collection, Halo: Reach hasn't aged perfectly and still has its detractors for controversial gameplay changes, but Bungie's swan song to Halo is still held with high reverence by the online community, making some players' quickness to pirate the game's inaugural PC test all the more baffling.
In a Halo Waypoint forum post aimed at Halo Insiders, the pool of players registered for early access to pre-release content which 343 is drawing on for MCC test flights, 343's Tyler Davis was forced to add onto a celebratory June 28 post detailing information about the first PC test. Noticeably more dry and to-the-point than developer community director Brian Jarrard, Davis issued the following statement to known and would-be illicit distributors of the exclusive test build:
"It has come to our attention that the Halo Insider flight has been illegally distributed online. If you download or play this illegal copy, we have the right to ban all associated accounts and remove you from all current or future 343 programs."
Davis also provided them with a well-worn link to the Microsoft Service Agreement, but it can be guessed that these near-immediate offenses cut deeper for developers at 343 than they let on. Out of a massive crowd of Halo Insiders waiting their turn to test-drive the MCC on PC, less than a thousand total players were greenlit to be the first. Having spent the last half-decade taking the suite of iconic Halo titles from downright broken to its current lauded state, it must sting a small amount to have players - who nonetheless are excited to get their hands on the collection - abuse their privileges.
With a first-ever dual Xbox Scarlett and PC launch slated for Halo Infinite in late 2020, these Halo: The Master Chief Collection test flights and its eventual release on PC are an excellent proving ground for 343 leading up to next year's mainline release on the long-neglected platform. As such, bad actors like those being threatened with bans stand to steal away developer focus from the development and release process with the problems they're contriving, and it would be better for every Halo fan if everyone could return to exercising their well-used patience muscles as they wait their turn to give the series a spin on PC.
Source: Halo Waypoint