Update: Microsoft has since issued a statement via the official Halo Twitter account stating that "a placeholder release date for the ODST campaign for Halo: The Master Chief Collection was inadvertently listed on the Xbox Store. We continue final testing and will make an official announcement once our release date is determined, and apologize for any confusion." Looks like gamers will be waiting a little longer still.
Original Story:
When the Halo: Master Chief Collection was released, it was meant to be a way for Halo fans to carry their favorite titles with them to Xbox One. The Master Chief Collection included ports of many Halo games, including an entirely remastered Halo 2 – a game that has long since had had its servers turned off and was without multiplayer.
However, when the MCC launched late last year, players didn't get the current-gen experience that they were expecting, instead the title was hampered by a several serious issues. The most prevalent of these was matchmaking as Halo players struggled to find multiplayer matches. This is what prompted developer 343 Industries to promise that Halo 5: Guardians would avoid the same fate.
Adding further insult to injury, the MCC's issues weren't solved until March when 343 Industries released a major patch, meaning that those who bought the Master Chief Collection at launch would have been waiting up to four months for a fix. As a result, 343 pledged to provide several 'goodwill' bonuses, including a free month of Xbox Live Gold, an exclusive nameplate and avatar, a remastered Halo 2 map, and a port of Halo 3: ODST for Xbox One. The return of Halo 3: ODST is being provided free of charge to anyone who played the Master Chief Collection before December 19, 2014, and now, it appears to have finally been given a release date.
In a reportedly now-deleted listing on the Xbox Store, it was allegedly revealed that Halo 3: ODST's release date is May 29, 2015. Provided that the listing is correct, it will be an 8.1GB download. This updated version of the game includes the main campaign as players forge through the open-world setting of Kenyan city Mombasa (known as New Mombasa in the game). Here, they will take on the role of an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper (ODST) as they discover what happened to their missing ODST teammates. As an ODST, players won't have access to all of Master Chief's abilities (such as the damage-absorbing shield and the lack of high jumps) but some fans believe this is a welcome change to the other games in the MCC.
Unfortunately, it is currently unclear as to when the Halo 3: ODST port will be released to those who played the Master Chief Collection after that December 19 cut off point, or how much it will cost them. It seems unlikely that the remaster would be kept from the masses for too long, nor is it likely that its price will be too high considering that Microsoft has been using the Master Chief Collection as a system-seller – something signalled by the recent MCC Xbox One bundle.
Were you affected by the Master Chief Collection's launch issues? Do you think the Halo 3: ODST port is a good enough apology for the launch troubles? Leave a comment and let us know.
Source: Xbox Dynasty