Halo 2 is arguably one of the most beloved first person shooters of all time. I’s considered one of the truly great Xbox games that helped propel the Master Chief into a gaming household name. The hype for the shooter began with a E3 demo from 2003, which saw the Covenant attack Earth. Thought to be lost forever, that demo will now be playable in Halo: The Master Chief Collection to celebrate 20 years of the popular sequel.
Halo Studios and modding community collaborate to revive the lost E3 demo
In a post from Xbox Wire, it was announced the lost E3 2003 Halo 2 demo will be playable as a free mod for Halo: The Master Chief Collection via Steam. Featuring content cut from the final release, it will be made available on the Steam Workshop on November 9, 2024. It has not been confirmed if the demo will make its way to consoles eventually.
The demo’s revival is credited to Digsite, a team within Halo Studios tasked with restoring cut content, and the wider modding community. The collaborative effort allowed those involved recover the original assets and files of the demo, and restore it to recreate the demo. The team did encounter several issues and obstacles on the road to revival, but eventually were able to successfully get the scenario up and running.
“This put us in a bit of a quandary,” Halo Senior Franchise writer Kenneth Peters tells us. “Even the original executable is difficult to work with, as you need an Xbox developer kit to get it to boot, which is in increasingly short supply even within the studio. But now, in 2024, we have the Digsite-developed tools to analyze and automate up-porting old assets, and the unearthed knowledge to know why Bungie built things the way they did in the demo.”
Halo community recreates Halo 2 maps for Halo Infinite playlist
In addition to the demo, Halo Infinite celebrates Halo 2’s 20th anniversary by releasing a set of multiplayer maps from the original game. Recreated in Forge by “key Halo Community members,” seven maps are making a comeback. Here is the full list with both their original and updated names:
- Ascension
- Boulevard (Turf)
- Canopy (Lockout)
- Conjurer (Warlock)
- Inquisitor (Midship)
- Serenity (Sanctuary)
- Beaver Canyon (Beaver Creek)
The maps will be featured in the Halo Infinite Delta Arena Playlist which changes some gameplay settings to recreate the feel of Halo 2. This means spring and clamber are disabled, and 120% jump height and friendly player collision are enabled.
“While utilizing custom game settings to recreate Halo 2’s movement is relatively easy, capturing that classic ‘feel’ was a bit harder to nail down,” says Halo Infinite Designer Evan Colson. “Considering all the subtle difference between Halo Infinite and Halo 2, a 1:1 recreation was never quite in the cards, but what we did come to was that of an amalgamation between the two, with settings that move like legacy Halo, but plays with elements of the modern sandbox.”
Players can enjoy the restored maps in Halo Infinite on November 5, 2024.
(Source: Xbox Wire)
