Halo: The Master Chief Collection now includes five games worth of content, but the latest update hints that 343 Industries could also include multiplayer maps from an obscure game that never hit American shores. While Halo Infinite will no longer be on the Xbox Series X at launch this holiday, Halo fans can take some solace that the Master Chief Collection is still getting new updates, as it has throughout this console generation. The team has just released Halo 3: ODST into the collection on PC and ported a few new multiplayer weapons from that game into Halo 3 proper.

The next step in the Master Chief Collection journey is the last that has been announced, bringing Halo 4 to PC for the first time. 343 Industries have already promised that Master Chief Collection on PC would match its console counterpart by the end of the year, so players can expect the Halo 4 patch before New Year's Day. Each update has added content to both versions of the game, including new unlockable cosmetics, new weapons, and new game types. No one knows which game will get the boost in the next update, or if 343 will indeed reach to yet another Halo project for content.

Related: Halo 3: ODST Is Coming To PC's Master Chief Collection Next Week

In the latest development update on The Master Chief Collection, 343 Industries answered questions regarding maps from Halo Online that have circulated around the fanbase over the past few weeks. Halo Online is a short-lived free PC version of Halo 3's multiplayer that only went live in Russian markets and was pulled before the official release. The game was downloaded by modders stateside, who turned it into a playable game called ElDewrito for an American audience. The popularity of this game among Halo enthusiasts helped pave the way for Halo's official rerelease on PC. While the game's content was mostly taken from its Xbox 360 counterpart, there were several maps unique to the game that are unplayable anywhere else.

After talking about a few of the things coming in the near future of Master Chief Collection (including Halo: Reach helmets deleted from the original game and an improved Halo 4 Forge mode), Design Director Max Szlagor brought up Halo Online maps specifically as something the team was looking into for updates going into next year. Other features include nameplates with animations and customization in the game's single-player modes. The game will start its fourth season of content with the release of Halo 4 on PC, and the team is looking into several more seasons to come following that.

While there are certainly PC games that have lasted for decades, is Halo: The Master Chief Collection the first console-first game to receive big updates throughout an entire console's lifespan and beyond? The dedication to making this years-old collection into a live service for Halo fans is a joy to see, as is the introduction of so much content that has never been seen in these games before. While it will be sad that Halo 5 will likely never join in on the fun, the entire collection stands as a perfect model for how traditional FPS games can remain relevant in a world of live services.

Next: Halo Infinite Team Adding Series Veterans To Finish Troubled Development

Source: Halo Waypoint