Halo 4 Will Debut on the PC Master Chief Collection Next Week

Well, it's not Halo Infinite, but I bet it'll look pretty nice with the settings maxed out and the frame rate cranked up: on Nov. 17, 343's Halo 4 will join The Master Chief Collection on PC, completing the Halo archive's migration to the Windows 10 store and Steam.

First released for the Xbox 360 in 2012, Halo 4 was the first title in the series built from the ground-up by 343 Industries and it kicked off the new storyline that we can expect to see continued (or perhaps resolved) when Infinite makes its delayed launch next year. While it not as beloved as Bungie's foundational installments in the series, Halo 4 is still a solid package and it made some gargantuan asks of the 360 hardware late in its lifecycle—I am looking forward to reexperiencing some of its vistas with a stable 4K, 60 FPS presentation.

With Halo: Reach having launched on PC at the the start of last December, Halo 4's arrival just shy of a year later means The Master Chief Collection's team can pivot away from heavy porting work. Additional support and seasonal content is planned for the future, so there's no need to worry about Halo 4 for PC signaling the end of 343's commitment to the collection.

Nov. 17 will also mark the introduction of Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S improvements for The Master Chief Collection. The biggest news is that every title from Halo: Combat Evolved through to Halo 4 is getting 120 FPS support in both Campaign and Multiplayer, so if you've got a TV or monitor that can support that refresh rate, the smoothest-ever Halo experience on console is right around the corner.

120 FPS support is also guaranteed for Halo Infinite's free-to-play multiplayer, but it's not clear when (or if) we'll get to see that in action before launch. Having just lost Creative Director Chris Lee after the delay, all we know about Microsoft's release plans for Halo Infinite is that it's targeting a 2021 launch for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The possibility of any public multiplayer testing is up in the air.