After a long wait, Halo: Master Chief Collection is finally getting a custom game browser, and 343 Industries has given fans a look at it. The new browser will be incredibly familiar to longtime fans of the franchise, essentially topping off one of the biggest missing pieces of the collection to date.
The browser was announced for the Halo collection earlier this year, but hasn't been released to the public yet. It will let players easily access custom games, make custom game lobbies, and bring fans back to some of their most nostalgic moments with the original games. Forge is a beloved creator tool; being able to easily share fan-made creations and allow players to use them for their own devices made games like Halo: Reach a blast to play after fans completed the campaign, especially if they weren't interested in competitive multiplayer.
343 Industries has shared a glimpse at what the new custom games browser will look like in Halo: Master Chief Collection in a post on Halo Waypoint. Setting up custom games can be done normally or can be used to create playlists with custom settings, such as player count. Rumors of bots coming to Halo were also squashed, as they're not quite ready for public usage due to potentially overwhelming power levels.
As for when this will actually be released to the public, that info is still unknown. Since the feature has been in testing for several months now, it can't be much longer. Either way it's encouraging to see how transparent 343 Industries is, managing to keep Halo fans in the loop at all times on almost all of its projects. There are very few games that manage to consistently keep good communication with such an incredibly large and passionate fanbase, but 343 Industries pulls it off in a way that is generally satisfying for its players.
Although it has taken a long time to get the custom games browser, with Halo even moving to new platforms in the process, it's great to see it finally introduced after years of waiting. It remains to be seen if 343 Industries can implement it in a way that will scratch the itch of fans who miss custom games in Bungie's original Halo titles, but it's a step in the right direction regardless. With the addition of a custom games browser, there are few if any key features missing from the original games that remain to be added to Halo: The Master Chief Collection, meaning that soon, the collection might just be the best way to experience these classic titles.
Source: Halo Waypoint