343 Industries is still testing out new builds of Halo 2 and Halo 2: Anniversary on PC internally to make them available for public flighting soon. Though the hopeful March schedule was not met, the studio today brought forth a new development update blog post with details on what will the Insider test carry when it kicks off.
Much like the Insider flights for previous Halo releases on PC, 343 plans to include multiple campaign missions, multiplayer options, as well as several other new features that fans can experiment with.
From the campaign, Cairo Station, Metropolis, The Oracle, Delta Halo, Quarantine Zone, and Gravemind missions will be available in both Halo 2 and Halo 2: Anniversary, supporting single-player and online co-op. Meanwhile, on the multiplayer side, the offered maps will be different between the two games:
- Halo 2 Multiplayer: Lockout, Midship, Beaver Creek, Burial Mounds, Coagulation, Headlong, Waterworks, Containment, Sanctuary, and Turf.
- Halo 2: Anniversary Multiplayer: Lockdown, Zenith, Stonetown, Bloodline, and Shrine.
There are some new features to look forward to in this flight as well, and possibly the biggest one is the first pass of the Challenge System. This is a new dynamic objective tracking system that will eventually encompass all of the Master Chief Collection games, giving players weekly challenges like "Kill X units" or "Play X matches of this specific game type in this playlist" for XP, season points, and item rewards.
Also incoming with the flight is Theater support for Halo 2: Anniversary as well as a new Spartan and Elites customization system for both Halo 2 and the Anniversary edition.
There isn"t an exact date attached to this Insider test just yet but it"s likely to see daylight during April. PC players interested in joining it and any future flights can sign up to be a Halo Insider over here. Don"t forget to check out our review of the latest Master Chief Collection release on PC as well.