Halo: Master Chief Collection Updated On Xbox One Amid Rumors Of PC Release

Microsoft continues to update and support Halo: The Master Chief Collection. The latest update is out now in time for the start of Spring in the northern hemisphere, and it's a big one. Starting off, players will immediately notice that the menu screen is changed.

Gone is the winter-themed background featuring a Warthog amid falling fun. It was peaceful and serene, so we're sad to see it go. The menu screen is now back with its regular look that was there prior to the first revision around the Flood back in October.

"The past few months have been fun from changing up the look and feel of the menus, adding community maps, and introducing some much asked for features," 343 said. "We have had fun working with the community to bring new life to the loading screens and we are looking forward to the next update."

In addition to changing the Halo: MCC menu screen, the update makes a series of changes to the Social Games multiplayer playlist. You'll now find new game types such as Team Muskets (no shields or shotguns), Rocketball (Oddball with Rockets), and Team Reign (a player on each team is "it" and they have to be protected).

On the Competitive front, the Halo 2 Classic Team Arena is going away, and it's replaced by Halo 2 Classic Team Hardcore on ranked playlists.

Further changes to Competitive games include betrayal and suicide penalties being disabled for Hardcore. You can see a rundown of the changes in the new update at the bottom of this post, as outlined by 343 on the game's forums.

The new update for Halo: The Master Chief Collection comes amid a recent report that claimed the game may be announced soon for PC. It's been rumoured for a while now that Microsoft would bring the game to PC, and Microsoft may announce it during its Inside Xbox video event on March 12. Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection Xbox One March 7 Update:

Social Games

As a result of community feedback, we’ve also updated the following for Social Games:

• 4v4 HCS Action Sack: Chiron-TL34, Chill Out, and Rat Race support Team Muskets
  • Team Musket: A Team Slayer variant consisting of no shields and shotguns (Similar to ShWATguns from later titles, just with more health)
• 4v4 HCE Action Sack: Battle Creek, Chill Out, and Wizard support Team Rocketball4v4 HCE Action Sack: Moved Reverse Tag on Damnation from Asset Denial to Action Sack
  • Rocketball: Who doesn’t love blowing up a friend? (Yes this is what it sounds like – Oddball with Rockets)
• 4v4 HCE Action Sack: Chill Out, Longest, and Rat Race support Team Reign4v4 H2C Snipers: Added Lockout, Midship, Beaver Creek, and Sanctuary and retuned weighting
  • Team Reign: An Oddball variant where a player on each team is ‘it’ and must be protected at all costs
• 2v2v2v2 Action Sack: Score to win in Fiesta increased from 25 to 50
• 8v8 H2A Flag and Bomb: Reduced number of rounds from 6 to 4 for One Flag CTF and One Bomb Assault
• 8v8 H2A Zone Control: Added attack/defend Territories to Remnant and Stonetown
• 8v8 H2A all: Disabled Sudden Death and better aligned game settings across modes

Competitive Games

We have also made some changes to our Competitive Games offerings. We are retiring H2C Team Arena in favor of H2C Team Hardcore to focus our ranked playlists on the most hardcore settings while the arena experience can be found in Social Games. If you think what you have it takes, hop in and try your shot at the professional gaming settings that were used during the era of Halo 2 Classic.

Additional changes for Competitive Games:

• H2C Team Arena is replaced with H2C Team Hardcore.H2A Team Arena is replaced with H2A Team Hardcore (the original HCS maps and settings)
  • All H2C Arena contents can still be played in Match Composer
• Betrayal and Suicide penalties have been disabled in Hardcore