A new Halo MCC update has added crossplay for the Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST campaigns, and that's not all -- the first hints of Steam Deck support have arrived with the addition of Easy Anti-Cheat.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection is a bundle featuring most of the major Halo games with the notable exceptions of Halo 5 and Halo Infinite. It's had quite a few updates over the years, adding everything from new cosmetics to modding support. Now, a new update has added Crossplay to two more games -- and it might be playable on the Steam Deck sometime in the near future.
What's New in Today's Halo MCC Update?
The latest Halo MCC update adds Crossplay support to two of the titles on the roster alongside some major improvements to ODST Firefight.
Let's start with the Crossplay -- it's now available for Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST, allowing players of those games to jump into battle with Xbox players. As always, there may be some bugs over the first few days -- keep that in mind before you jump into a game.
The second major addition is "Floodfight," the moniker for improvements made to ODST Firefight. Some new Flood combat forms have been added and they can occupy vehicles now, too, making for a super-challenging battle. This update also adds some networking and pathfinding improvements, some of which have been imported into Halo: Reach.
Future updates will include expansion to modding support for other games and more; you can read about all of the other changes in the full Halo MCC update patch notes (via Reddit), but there's one more interesting thing to cover -- it seems that today's update quietly added a little something extra to the game.
Is Halo Steam Deck Support Coming?
Aside from the other goodies in today's Halo MCC update, the first hints of Halo Steam Deck support were reportedly added with the inclusion of Easy Anti-Cheat on Linux.
"Halo: The Master Chief Collection added Easy Anti-Cheat for Linux," read a tweet from GamingOnLinux (via Reddit). "Doesn't mean it will work on Proton / Steam Deck yet, but it's a good sign."
The potential of an official Halo Steam Deck release is great, but some players didn't want to wait and have figured out how to get it working on the handheld gaming PC anyway. Unfortunately, the addition of EAC appears to have broken the game on the Steam Deck for now, so it looks like it might be out of commission on that platform for some time.
Steam Deck aside, this update has brought some neat new stuff into the mix. If you haven't yet bought the game, now's a great time to get into it -- you can buy Halo: The Master Chief Collection for PC via Steam starting at $15.99 or your regional equivalent, a 60% discount that lasts until April 15, 2022.
