June 21, 2019 Public beta tests are due to begin next week – hopefully.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection’s first PC tests could begin as early as next week. In an announcement post last night, John Junyshek, community coordinator at developer 343 Industries says that some players could have their hands on the game very soon.
Junyshek says that “if everything goes according to plan, our first flight for Halo: Reach on MCC PC will be next week to a small subsection of registered Halo Insiders.” That’s not the biggest rollout, but apparently 343 is “starting more modestly because we’ve got quite a few levers to pull and we want to ensure our delivery pipeline runs smoothly, our communications are clear, and that participants can properly provide their feedback on the build.”
As yet, it’s still not completely guaranteed that the tests will commence next week – “the team has a build which appears to be a strong candidate, but it’s still in the middle of going through the test process. That said, we’re still targeting to release next week and will be sharing the details with the public.”
343 has always said that the MCC will be “ready when it’s ready,” but tests were originally set to begin in April. Those were eventually pushed back because “PC is considerably more complicated and requires more work” than console development.
Sadly, it seems as though only a small number of players will have access to this first test. Figures on the numbers of sign-ups to the Insider Program have not been widely circulated, but if only a “small subsection” of players are getting their hands on it, I imagine these early tests will be relatively small.
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The tests will hopefully give us our first look at the MCC’s new progression system. Until then, you can take a look at an hour of Halo Reach PC gameplay to give you a better idea of what to expect.