Halo 2 E3 2003 Demo Available in Halo: The Master Chief Collection via Steam Workshop

The youngest people around won't remember, but there was a time when E3 was a major trade show where many companies held a conference with announcements that got people out of their chairs. One of the most memorable scenes is the presentation by Bungie of the playable demo of Halo 2 for Xbox at E3 2003. Of everything that was seen on screen, little ended up in the final version of the game that was put on sale. a year later, but after two decades since the presentation of the demo the situation is about to change.

Microsoft and Halo Studios have announced that to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Halo 2 they will make available to players of Halo: The Master Chief Collection for PC (Steam) the demo of the game that was seen at E3 2003. This content will be available on November 9 as a mod free to be distributed through the Steam Workshop. In this way, PC players will be able to recreate the game of Halo 2 shown at E3 2003 where the game developed by Bungie featured, in a development kit, technologies that did not make it to the final version due to the limitations of the hardware of the game. first Xbox.

The release of this remastered demo is not only a detail to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Halo 2. It is also a preservation exercise in which the Digsite team composed of modders of the community, who for several years have been working to recover Halo content that did not make it to the final games. In the case of the demo they have had to rescue original resources and files and deal with an engine that no longer exists and whose assets were not compatible with any other existing version of Halo 2. Steven «General_101» García is responsible for the project along with other members of Digsite.

The celebration of the 20th anniversary of Halo 2 will also reach Halo Infinite, which starting November 5 will have a playlist called Delta Arena that includes recreations of multiplayer maps from the second installment of the saga. Maps, including Ascension, Boulevard, Canopy, Conjurer, Inquisitor, Serenity and Beaver Canyon, have been created with Forge tools by renowned modders from the Halo community and its gameplay modified to convey the same feeling as Halo 2.

Finally, Halo is coming to Forza again. Starting November 7, players will be able to use Forza Horizon 5's EventLab tool to create their own Halo-themed tracks.