Halo 3 Anniversary Details: It’s Not a New Game

We received a blowout of Halo-related news today with what’s called the Halo Summer Celebration. Headlining the news was the fact that Halo 5 will be receiving a native 4K resolution update with the release of the Xbox One X.

As you may be aware of, 2017 marks the 10-year anniversary of Halo 3 being released. We dealt with rumors that Halo 3 is coming to PC, but 343 Industries has denied that and even went as far as saying the game was not being remade or remastered.

As part of the Halo Summer Celebration, something is being done to celebrate the anniversary of Halo 3, but it’s probably not what you would expect. Instead of receiving a remake or remaster, a new playlist is being added into Halo 5 instead.

The playlist is called the Halo 3 Anniversary Throwback playlist and will be built from scratch and feature a selection of fan-made maps from Halo 3 built using Forge in Halo 5. 343 Industries says the playlist will feature “classic” gameplay settings. This could mean it will play more like Halo 3 than Halo 5, such as removing the sprint function. A live stream will coincide with the event and feature giveaways.

Here’s the full statement regarding Halo 3’s 10-year anniversary:

Like most of you we’re also filled with a mix of emotions at the upcoming 10th anniversary of Halo 3 – “Wow, it’s been ten years!? I feel old” and “Damn Halo 3 was awesome” being two common examples. You’ll have a few different ways you can celebrate this momentous milestone – in addition to the eventual release of Halo 3 back-compat on Xbox One, the team is also planning a special Halo 3 Anniversary Throwback playlist for Halo 5. This new matchmaking offering is being built from scratch on a selection of incredible community-made Halo 3 maps created with Forge in Halo 5 and will feature “classic” gameplay settings. We’re also cooking up a fun commemorative live stream that should offer good times and a hearty helping of giveaways. Stay tuned!

Although Halo 3 is part of the Master Chief Collection, it will be joining the Xbox Backwards Compatibility program along with Halo: CE Anniversary, Halo 3: ODST and Halo 4. When these titles come out, every Xbox 360 map pack for the games will become free. LAN play is also available for the titles on Xbox One and even Xbox One and Xbox 360 LAN play is enabled.

Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST will be shown at RTX Austin 2017 running on the Xbox One. RTX Austin 2017 begins tomorrow July 7, and will run until July 9.

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