343 Industries hasn"t been able to nail down a solid launch window for Halo: The Master Chief Collection"s PC testing phase for some time now, but the developer has now announced that it is preparing to kick off the platform"s first test flights for Halo: Reach next week "if everything goes according to plan."
Only a small portion of players who signed up to the Halo Insider program will get in on this test, as 343 says "we"ve got quite a few levers to pull and we want to ensure our delivery pipeline runs smoothly, our communications are clear, and that participants can properly provide their feedback on the build."
The developer is still internally testing this Reach build it plans to push out next week, calling it a "strong candidate," and said that details about it will be available to everyone going forward, not just Insiders who are selected to have a go at it. This could be the same campaign mission that was shown off last month - which was also playable at E3 - or something else entirely.
Those who are chosen to test out the build will be receiving access to the Reach gameplay slice via Steam, where the whole Halo: The Master Chief Collection is releasing on alongside the Microsoft Store. The PC version"s pricing was confirmed during E3 as well, where each title would cost $9.99 to purchase as they launch.
Meanwhile, it was also confirmed today that Halo Infinite would have a flighting program across Xbox and PC which "will start small and slowly expand out until release." While PC testing might start later than the console flights, 343 reaffirmed that it is treating the platform as a "first-class citizen."