It's a big day for Halo fans. 13 years after the release of Halo 3 for Xbox 360 on September 24, 2007, Microsoft has finally brought the game to PC. Additionally, the big Season 2 update for Halo: The Master Chief Collection has arrived for both PC and Xbox One.

　　You can get Halo 3 right now on Steam for $10 USD, or you can buy it through The Master Chief Collection for $40 USD. Halo's community director, Brian Jarrard, said Microsoft released the game and the update a little bit early, so you might experience some issues before the "official" launch on July 14.

　　Yep, Halo 3 PC and the MCC update are now live a bit early. It’s been nearly 13 years, we figure you’ve waited long enough. Note some services may still be coming online ahead of our “official” launch tomorrow AM. pic.twitter.com/hrIeBec6mw

　　— Brian Jarrard (@ske7ch) July 14, 2020

　　The big Season 2 update for MCC is 23.4 GB on Xbox One, and you can see the complete patch notes below, as posted by Microsoft. MCC owners on the Microsoft Store and Game Pass for PC will see a 20.84 GB update, while people who have MCC on Steam will have a 17.6 GB update.

　　MCC's total file size, with the new update applied, becomes 127.76 GB on Xbox One, 124.5 GB on Steam, and 93.15 GB on the Microsoft Store.

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　　The update introduces Forge mode on Halo: Reach, Halo 2, and Halo 3, while Halo 3's Forge mode specifically is getting a whole suite of new features.

　　This update also adds the new "3D model viewer" for Halo 3, while audio issues for Halo: Reach and Halo 3 have been addressed. What's more, Halo 3 gets a new Skull called "Acrophobia" that makes you fly. Halo: Combat Evolved, meanwhile, gets vehicle skins for the first time in 19 years.

　　You can see the full patch notes below.

　　

Halo: MCC July 13 Patch Notes

New Features

(PC) Forge is now available for Halo: Reach, Halo 2: Anniversary, and Halo 3.Halo 3 Forge has been updated with new features, including Object Physics, rotation, coordinate snap and precision edit tools.Halo 3 and Halo: Reach Forge pallets have been expanded with new objects and budget increases.Halo 3, Halo: Reach, and Halo 2: Anniversary Forge tools have been updated with a new “Toggle Rotation Axes” feature adding toggleable rotation around World and Local axes. Note: This is planned to be added into Halo 4 at a later date.Updated season unlock flow to feature non-linear unlocks per page and added Season 2 featuring 30 new nameplates, 46 new H1 Weapon and 18 H1 Vehicle skins.Challenges are now available to complete across all available titles. Note: Campaign Challenges are currently not supported in Halo 4: Spartan Ops.New spartan customization 3D model viewer for Halo 3.Updated Skill Rank backend for Ranked Matchmaking. This resolved a long-standing rank reset issue and has required us reset all ranked playlists to 1.“Highest Lifetime” rank is now displayed for rotational hoppers that are no longer available.Halo: Reach & Halo 3 audio has been updated.New Acrophobia skull for Halo 3.“Dual Wield Inversion” has been added as a toggle for players who wish to disable the title from switching the “primary fire” weapon to your left-hand while dual wielding in Halo 2 or Halo 3.

Game Install Size and Version

Please see the information below to ensure you have proper disk space to install each title from your desired store platform as well as are on the latest update.

　　Latest Version

　　The latest version of the game is 1.1698.0.0, to find the version number (Full KBA).To update your game if you are not on the latest version (Full KBA).Microsoft Store and Xbox Game Pass for PC (Beta)

　　MCC owners will receive a 20.84GB update with the full install being 93.15GB.Steam

　　MCC Bundle Owners: A 17.6GB update with Halo: Reach, H:CEA, H2:A, and Halo 3 being about 124.5 installed.Xbox

　　MCC will receive a 23.38GG update with the full install being 127.76

Resolved Community Issues

Improvements have been across the board from our last update and previous flights. Below are several new game-specific features and resolved issues that come with today’s update and the platform (Xbox Only, PC Only, or All Platforms):

　　Global (All Platforms)

　　Fixed issues where achievements for killing Engineers were displayed as ODST-specific despite being attainable in Halo: Reach as well.Fixed an issue where nameplate unlock criteria was no longer displayed once unlocked.Fixed various cases where the game client could crash during shutdown. Global (PC)

　　Fixed an issue where the “He’s Running a Marathon”, “The Guardians are Coming” and “Why am I Here?” achievements would not unlock in Steam after unlocking them on Xbox Live.Fixed an issue where the campaign preview widget would appear on the root Main Menu after a sign-in change.Fixed a crash which could occur when entering the Seasonal Overview immediately after sign-in.Improved how the Seasonal Overview is displayed in non-standard aspect ratios. Global (Xbox)

　　Fixed a crash which could occur when looking up certain Gamertags with the Find Player feature in the Roster.Halo: Reach (All Platforms)

　　Audio has been updated with Waves integration, aligning closer to Xbox 360 quality.Fixed an issue where “Xbox 360” was referenced on the Boot Betrayer prompt in non-English languages.Added localization for map location names in non-English languages.Fixed an issue where the wrong key was displayed on the Boot Betrayer prompt.Halo: Combat Evolved (All Platforms)

　　New Customization Support for Halo: Combat Evolved Multiplayer, including Visor, Vehicle, and Weapon Skins.“New Skins” can be disabled under the “Gameplay” submenu in settings to locally return H1’s appearance to legacy.Fixed an issue where spamming the plasma pistol’s trigger would cause the charge-up sound to stick.Rocket Warthog can now be manually reloaded.Fixed an issue where some starting weapons were not respected on Rat Race.Gameplay audio should no longer be heard in the background while a terminal plays in Co-Op Campaign.Halo 2 (All Platforms)

　　Resolved a crash that could occur during long playthroughs.Enemy Elites now dual wield.Fixed an issue where the Energy Sword displayed incorrectly when viewed against flood tanks in “The Oracle.”Rebuilt the lightmap for the initial classic cinematic on “Outskirts” to return lighting and shadows to OG Xbox visuals.Adjusted a default gamma option to bring it closer to OG Xbox. This may result in lighting and brightness looking different then our past patch.Fixed an issue that was causing players in matchmade games to grenade jump higher than expected, bringing the height back down to OG Xbox clients.Fixed an issue where the “Malfunction” skull would display HUD elements incorrectly while dual wielding.Infinite ammo and grenades now display with the “infinity” symbol in the HUD.Fixed an issue where a controller would sometimes be stuck vibrating after coming out of gameplay.Resolved a loading issue that would cause Campaign Co-Op Players to disconnect when starting a mission.Horizontal mouse movement while on a stationary turret is now unbound and no longer restricted by the turning radius.Fixed an issue where some dynamic music tracks in Campaign Classic Mode was looping incorrectly.Halo 2: Anniversary (All Platforms)

　　Fixed an issue where the sentinel beam VFX would occasionally not display.Added 0% option for fall damage in Custom Games.Players can now move while the Scoreboard is open.Halo 3 (All Platforms)

　　Audio has been updated with Waves integration, aligning closer to Xbox 360 quality.Several matte paintings have been updated with higher fidelity versions in Campaign cinematics.Customization has been updated to support individual armor pieces and tertiary colors.Emblems now display on armor in gameplay.Footsteps in the snow no longer appear with black textures.Fixed some incorrectly lit particles when Scarabs or Phantoms were destroyed.Hornet and Brute Chopper turning speed has been improved to better match Xbox 360.Added the Fuel Rod Gun, Sentinel Beam, Carbine, Mauler, and Plasma Rifle as starting weapons to Custom Games.Fixed an issue where the prowler was misrepresented as the mauler in tools of destruction on the Post Game Carnage Report.Fixed issues where some strings extended outside of the gametype objective widget in non-English languages.