First Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary PC test flight begins in February

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (Image credit: 343 Industries)

What you need to know

343 Industries announced plans to begin Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary PC flights in February.
The flight will Campaign, Multiplayer, Customization, and Progression content.
Some improvements to Halo: Reach on PC will also be tested in the flight.
You need to sign up for the Halo Insider Program to have a chance to participate.

Halo developer 343 Industries announced in a blog post that Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is slated to begin public flighting in February. This is a slightly later than the expected January tests, but the flights are nevertheless coming soon. The game is expected to begin being tested privately during January, and then if all goes well, the scope of the testing will expand and a public flight will begin next month. The content of the flight itself will include a variety of content from Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, including Campaign (both solo and co-op), Multiplayer, and even the title's Customization and Progression systems.

On top of this, the flight is also going to contain some improvements to Halo: Reach that 343 Industries is looking to test. The only specific example given in the blog post is a change to the way that crouching works while moving, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see a fix for Halo: Reach's audio bugs being tried out. Hopefully the developers will tell us more in the coming weeks.

To have a chance at participating in this upcoming flight as well as ones beyond that, you'll need to sign up for the Halo Insider Program. It's quick to do, and you get the opportunity to both play some Halo for free and help 343 Industries squash bugs while doing so, making it a win-win. Make sure to follow our guide on how to sign up here.

If you want to hop into some official, fully-polished Halo on PC, make sure to check out Halo: Reach. Aside from the aforementioned audio mishaps, the port is fantastic, and playing Halo on mouse and keyboard is truly a great time. The modding community for the game is super active, too, and has already created a ton of mods that bring unique gameplay experiences to the table.

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary on PC will be available as part of the Halo: Master Chief Collection bundle that costs $40 or for $10 on its own. Halo: Reach on PC can be purchased right now as a standalone title for $10 as well. The games are available on both Steam and the Windows 10 Store.

Finish the Fight

Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC

Experience the entirety of Halo history

The Master Chief Collection is a collection of every Halo shooter from the pre-Xbox One era, offering incredible value at an incredible price.

Remember Reach

Halo: Reach on PC

From the beginning, you know the end

The Halo: Reach PC port is excellent, bringing the classic title to modern hardware in a superb way.

Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. He's been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you'll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he's not writing or gaming, there's a good chance he's either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once. Follow him on X (Twitter).