The Master Chief Collection is bringing Halo: Combat Evolved into 2020 with unlockable cosmetic upgrades for multiplayer. First released in a bit of a sorry state back in 2014, 343 Industries have spent years refining this bundle of Halo games into one of the most impressive packages you'll see on consoles today. With seven different game engines supported and tons of bespoke features for individual games, it will offer Xbox One and PC owners a complete Halo experience by the end of the year. However, it seems that 343 is dedicated to more than just the preservation of these Xbox classics, as they keep adding features that players in 2001 could only dream of.
2001 is, of course, the launch year of the Xbox, and the year that players first stepped into the boots of Master Chief. It was before the launch of Xbox Live, making it all the more remarkable how its LAN-centric multiplayer kept the game alive for years to come. When you settled in for your endless excursions on Sidewinder, your customization options were right on the menu. You could edit your name and you could choose a color for your armor. Back then, it was all you needed, and people played for the love of the experience. However, games have changed considerably in the intervening two decades.
Introduced today on Halo Waypoint via the patch notes that also brought Halo 3 to PC Master Chief Collection owners, Halo: Combat Evolved now has unlockable cosmetic skins. They come in three flavors, including alternate visor colors, weapon skins, and vehicle skins. Of course, these are skins applied to the graphics of an Xbox game, so it's not going to look pretty compared to Fortnite. However, adding progression to a 19-year-old multiplayer suite is certainly a unique happening that's worth celebrating if you're still out there rocking an M6D on Hang 'Em High.
In the showcase video above (helpfully put together by The Vengeful 'Vadam on YouTube), you can get an idea of what each new skin looks like during a stroll around Blood Gulch. The Covenant weapons and vehicles are all rather basic color swaps, which is respectful of the series lore but also not as fun as some of the Human offerings. For example, the shark's grin first seen on the Flamethrower and also available on skins in Halo 5: Guardians returns here as a stylish Warthog. Meanwhile, the Scorpion tank gets full on tiger stripes and the weapons gain several gold and Nerf-inspired variations.
In order to unlock these weapons, players just need to play multiplayer, earn XP, and then spend credits they earn with each new level. All the unlocks are part of Season 2 of the game's battle pass-like progression, although it's all free of charge with the base game. Players can also continue to unlock the Season 1 tier, which includes all the customization items that were originally included in Halo Reach. With an updated Halo: Combat Evolved and more available all in one place on PC for the first time, there's never been a better time to get into the game that launched a million LAN parties.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection is available now for Xbox One and PC.
Source: Halo Waypoint, The Vengeful 'Vadam