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Halo 4 PC beta is live – with crossplay and input-based matchmaking

The fight is nearly finished

After a long road to release, the Halo Master Chief Collection on PC is nearly complete. The beta (or flight, in Microsoft’s bizarre parlance) for Halo 4 is rolling out now, and there’s one final extra feature here to make the PC port complete: crossplay. Yes, with the launch of Halo 4 on the PC MCC, you’ll be able to play with friends and strangers on Xbox.

The beta will roll out in waves to members of the Halo Insider programme, so if you’re not in already you’ll likely be able to get in soon. (You can check the Halo Waypoint site for details.) The biggest addition here, of course, is Halo 4 for the PC collection, but the update’s also heading to consoles to help implement crossplay and some of the other new features. (Plus, console players are getting an FOV option. Good for them!)

This update introduces crossplay with input-based matchmaking, so controller players play with controller players and mouse-and-keyboard players stick with mouse-and-keyboard, so there’s no upsetting the multiplayer balance. For this beta, crossplay is enabled across all Firefight, Forge, and multiplayer modes, though the Halo 4 campaign and Spartan Ops don’t currently support it.

The beta flight is set to last until November 3. If there are no major issues, it’s safe to expect the full PC release of Halo 4 to follow not long after.

With Halo 4 nearly upon us, it’s time to look ahead to the Halo Infinite release date. Halo 5 has never been part of the MCC, so it’s looking like us PC players are going to be making the leap straight to the next-gen title.