This morning, Microsoft announced they are making Halo: The Master Chief Collection for the Xbox One. This game is a compilation of Halo 1, 2, 3, and 4 all running on the Xbox One. These games have never been available on Microsoft’s newest console, so this is the only way gamers can experience those titles on the latest hardware. In particular, Halo 2 is getting a high-definition makeover, so it will look unbelievable compared to its original incarnation.
This compilation game will feature a unified user interface that will allow players to customize their experience across all four games. I am part of a small team that is creating this unified user interface for players. We’ve been working diligently at this for months now.
As with any time your game is publicly revealed for the first time, you get nervous about how the public is going to react. The Internet usually provides a healthy level of disdain for almost anything but I was pleasantly surprised this morning. The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive no matter where I have looked. In fact, a fair number of people have stated they might buy an Xbox One just for this game. It’s amazing that a series of four previously released games is what would finally make some people jump to next-gen hardware.
The video you see above is showing the actual user interface that we’ve been developing. We did a bit of work for E3, so the state you see it in is pretty much how it is now. We still have a lot of work to do so it’ll be a race to the finish.
This is certainly the most high-profile game I’ve had a chance to work on. I just hope we live up to the Halo standard set by the previous games.