Summary
- Halo 2 celebrates its 20th anniversaryTh anniversary in November, and Halo Studios is honoring its legacy.
- Experience faithful recreations of Halo 2’s iconic multiplayer maps and gameplay in Halo Infinite’s Delta Arena Playlist.
- Play the lost Halo 2 demo from E3 2003 with content that never made it into the game’s final release in Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Almost 20 years have passed since the release of Halo 2the legendary sequel that put us behind the eyes of Master Chief and the Arbiter for the first time and took online console shooters to entirely new heights. Two decades later, the Halo series is still going strong and there was no way we could let this milestone pass without celebrating such a groundbreaking title. Grab your Mountain Dew and experience the ultimate Halo 2 birthday party.
To mark this occasion, Halo Infinite comes the release of Delta Arena, a playlist featuring recreations of some iconic characters Halo 2 Multiplayer maps, complete with the same authentic gameplay inspired by that era. In addition, a fully playable version of the icon Halo 2 The demo shown at E3 2003, featuring gameplay that did not make it into the final version of the game, is being added to the Steam Workshop as a mod for Halo: The Master Chief Collection so fans can play for the first time ever.
We also had the opportunity to chat with some core members of Halo Studios about the celebrations, share some nostalgic memories, and revisit the significance of this groundbreaking title and the legacy it carries like a Brute Gravity Hammer.
“Halo 2 is a major pillar for the franchise that has catapulted the series and the community to new heights,” said Brian Jarrard, Community Director at Halo. “It was also a masterclass in games marketing at the time – the creation of a true global pop culture phenomenon that ranged from celebrity appearances to musical crossovers and product partnerships to ARGs and cinematics and stories that rivaled Hollywood.”
“The gameplay innovations, esports competitions, storytelling, online connectivity and overall cultural penetration have fostered a new level of global fandom and community that has elevated Halo beyond ‘just a game.'” If we Looking back twenty years (!), it is still remarkable how influential Halo 2 was and how far-reaching its impact continues to be today.”
On old lawn
Delta Arena starts in Halo Infinite on November 5th and features several modern recreations of classic multiplayer maps from Halo 2Lovingly and faithfully recreated in Forge with the help of key Halo community members known as Forgers. You can once again hop around the blurry sniper spots of Ascension, duel with energy swords in the neon hallways of Midship, or get stuck in the chaos of tight quarters in the buildings of Lockout.
“The process started with us looking at what had been recreated by the community and what could work alongside the modes we were developing internally,” explains Evan Colson, designer at Halo Infinite. “Ultimately, we tried to find fan favorites that stayed true to their original design and fit well into the Infinite environment. Each of these replicas was brought back to life by the extraordinary forgers behind them.”
Take a look at some of the new cards below.
Halo Infinite producer Nick Treitman thinks the selection is a “healthy mix of maps,” with some effortlessly sticking to their original Halo 2 setting and others opting for an artistic twist that enhances the map’s design without losing its legacy to sacrifice.
“Beaver Canyon feels exactly as you remember it, and Conjurer takes the magic/sorcerer theme and turns it up to 11,” adds Treitman. “Midship was one of our most requested cards and after we finally got the Covenant forge items into play, it was a matter of time before a faithful H2 version came out.”
Here is the full list of maps with their original names as well as the updated names they will have in the Halo Infinite Delta playlist:
- Ascension
Credits: Bullet2thehead9, DISTORTED JAKAL, MikRips - Boulevard (lawn)
Credits: UneeQ, Mr Greencastle, ArtNoob, MikRips - Canopy (Lockout)
Credits: UneeQ, Mr GreenCastle, MikRips, ArtNoob - Summoner (Warlock)
Credits: MikRips, Bullet2thehead9, DISTORTED JAKAL - Inquisitor (amidships)
Credits: UneeQ, Mr GreenCastle, MikRips, ArtNoob, WookieCookies - Serenity (Sanctuary)
- Credits: UneeQ, Mr Greencastle, MikRips
- Beaver Canyon (Beaver Creek)
Image credits: UneeQ, Mr Greencastle, Azwilko1997, MikRips
Here is the original Halo 2 Midship map, alongside the brand new Inquisitor map coming soon Halo Infinite.
Of course, it’s not classic Halo without gameplay, and so the settings in the Delta Arena playlist have been adjusted to recreate the feel Halo 2. With sprinting and climbing disabled, jump height at 120%, and collision with friendly players enabled, you’ll be transported straight back to the early days of online gaming.
“While it’s relatively easy to use custom game settings to recreate the movement of Halo 2, capturing that classic ‘feel’ was a little more difficult,” says Colson. “Considering all the subtle differences between Halo Infinite and Halo 2, a 1:1 replica was never really in the cards, but we’ve come to a fusion of the two, with settings that move like the old Halo, but can be played with elements of the modern sandbox.”
These maps are of course combined with legendary game modes – Spartans can jump into Slayer, Oddball, Capture the Flag and King of the Hill rounds in the Delta Arena playlist.
And another extra treat: the starting weapon in the Delta Arena playlist is the MA5K Avenger, a new addition to the Halo Infinite sandbox. Inspired by the Halo 2 SMG of the past and originally featured on the novel’s cover 18 years ago, Halo: Spirits of Onyxthe MA5K makes its debut as a playable weapon.
The E3 demo
Many of us remember this icon Halo 2 The demo was shown at E3 back in 2003. Not only was it an iconic moment for the gaming industry at the time, but it also showed what was possible not only in the Halo universe, but for the future of Xbox as a whole. The demo was groundbreaking and is fondly remembered by Halo fans today, but the effort to restore it has become a great journey in itself.
“The excitement and hype leading up to this event was overwhelming and the stakes were higher than ever before,” said Brian Jarrard, Community Director at Halo. “I fondly remember so many playtests and practices, the internal challenges to see who could take down every single enemy in a flawless playthrough.”
Now, for the first time, fans can return to 2003 in a playable recreation of the demo Halo: The Master Chief Collection via Steam.
“The response to the demo at E3 was electrifying and almost every Halo fan remembers the demo and where they were when they were dazzled by his majesty for the first time,” adds Jarrard. “The best part is that none of us ever imagined that a group of passionate community modders would bring this demo to life as a full-fledged mission more than 20 years later.”
Several technological issues caused this demo to be kept under wraps for many years. However, thanks to the work of the Digsite Data Archeology Archive and the energetic efforts of the broader Halo community, the original assets and files have been restored. But things didn’t go smoothly from there either – the demo was built in a version of the Halo engine that no longer exists, and the assets weren’t compatible with any other existing version of Halo 2.
“That left us in a bit of a bind,” Kenneth Peters, senior franchise writer at Halo, tells us. “Even the original executable is difficult to work with because it requires an Xbox developer kit to boot, which is becoming increasingly scarce even in the studio. But now, in 2024, we have the tools developed by Digsite to analyze and automate the updating of old assets, and the unearthed knowledge to know why Bungie built things the way they did in the demo .”
“Steven Garcia (known in the community as General_101) was instrumental in pushing this scenario through and even improving it over the original. He was a one-man army and did a significant amount of work developing tools, updating scripts and even designing the levels. Digsite team members Ludus, Neo Te Aika, Sean T, xScruffyDaSasquatchx and Killzone then provided the finishing touches to reproduce and bug test the original demo experience. Without them we probably would have just had a pretty unceremonious loss of raw assets and that was it.”
As part of the Digsite partnership between the studio and the modding community, players can try out the remastered for themselves Halo 2 E3 demo when this free mod releases on Steam Workshop on November 9th.
Halo x Forza celebrations
The celebration will also extend to other long-running Xbox franchises. Halo and Forza have had a long partnership – the iconic Warthog vehicle was released in 2020 Forza Motorsport 4 It celebrated its mobile debut back in 2011 Forza Horizon 3, and in Forza Horizon 4Players were able to complete a mission inspired by the environments of the Halo rings.
“The incredible potential of the EventLab tool Forza Horizon 5 gives us a great opportunity to develop this idea further and give payers the opportunity to create their own Halo tracks,” explains Corrinne Robinson, Franchise Development Director at Halo. “Our players have spent years creating amazing and imaginative things in Forge within Halo, and we can’t wait to see what the racing community does with the new toy box of Halo items at their disposal. “
The Halo 2 The celebration begins on November 5th with the release of the Delta Arena playlist as part of Halo Infinite – Operation: Great Journey.
Be sure to check out the Halo-themed Event Lab additions when they arrive Forza Horizon 5 on November 7th and of course the classic E3 demo Halo: The Master Chief Collection on Steam via the Steam Workshop mod when it launches on November 9th. Keep a tight grip on the Covenant Bomb Spartan, we’re on it.
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