Season 5 of Halo: The Master Chief Collection is just one short week away, and players can look forward to unlocking over 80 new cosmetics for Halo 3 and Halo Reach. Season 5 is the first major update to the game released since the Master Chief Collection completed its yearlong release on PC, and will therefore be the first battle pass to fully support both console and PC players simultaneously. All throughout 2020, 343 Industries have been adding cosmetic unlocks and other skins to the previous Halo games that could support them, including original Xbox launch title Halo: Combat Evolved. While console purists can turn off these additions, it's undoubtedly neat to see new content for a classic so many years after its release.
Season 5 will focus on additions for Halo Reach and Halo 3, leaning more strongly on the latter. That's because many of these armors are being imported from Halo Online, a canceled free-to-play offering that only saw limited beta testing in Russia. Despite that, Halo modders online got their hands on the client and ripped it apart, discovering many Halo 4-era armors downgraded for the Halo 3 engine. These armors are also seen in today's teaser trailer, so it's likely that they'll all be a part of the update.
As seen first on the official Halo Twitter, Season 5 will feature eighty pieces of Spartan armor to unlock across both supported games on top of new weapon skins. On the Halo Reach side of the equation, the additions will be two sets of armor that were in development for the original game but never saw the light of day. One of the two armor sets was even previewed by Bungie during the lead up to the release of the Defiant Map Pack, and it even went on to be an Easter egg included in the later Anniversary Map Pack and Halo 5's Forge mode.
Outside of armors, Halo Reach will be getting a new set of chest pieces that add Spartan Kat's robotic arm to already existing choices that didn't already have the option. Also of note is one of the helmet customization pieces, which adds in the face of popular Halo meme Mister Chief via a crudely drawn sketch atop the VISR. Meanwhile, Halo 3 will get a whole host of new weapon skins for everything from the SPNKR Rocket Launcher to the Needler as well as one added skin for the Mongoose ATV.
The addition of Halo Online cosmetics to Halo: The Master Chief Collection has been something long rumored in Halo circles, so it's great to see it finally come to fruition in Season 5. While there was some work to be done to get all these cosmetics into the collection, one wonders what the other planned seasons will bring in terms of cosmetic additions. There are very few existing assets that developer 343 Industries can bring to the table after these additions, so it might be limited to weapon and vehicle skins rather than brand new helmets and armor choices. It's hard to be too upset considering how crazy these additions are in concept, but it would still be somewhat of a downgrade.
Source: Halo/Twitter
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January 23, 2021 at 04:30AM
