Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is now available for the PC

A little earlier than most anticipated, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is now available as part of the Halo: The Master Chief Collection for PC. 

The news came via Microsoft slightly out of the blue, as no concrete dates had previously been set. Although, astute Halo fans will note that March 3rd is a vital day in the lore of the series. It's the day that UNSC erects a monument to those lost in the Human-Convenant war. For everyone else, it's the day that Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary becomes available. 

The game is essentially the souped up version of the original Halo game that changed a lot about how first-person shooters were perceived back when it first launched in 2001 for Xbox and then in 2003 for PC. At the touch of the tab button, you'll be able to switch between the classic game graphics (which look decidedly dated) and the enhanced version. 

The latter offers 60 fps and 4K support, along with variable frame rate to ensure it looks rather good for an old game. There's also support for ultra-wide displays, various aspect ratios, and also updated texture and shadow quality. 

Other features include native KBM support (obviously), the ability to rebind controls, and improvements to Spartan customisation. There's also a new progression system which makes use of the full collections's season system in a bid to keep you coming back for more.

Microsoft has stated in the past that it's introduced 'community-requested features' so - in theory - this should be everything that fans could want and more. The regular beta flights should mean that this is a fairly complete package. 

It's possible to buy Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary for £6.99 individually or for £29.99 as part of the full Master Chief Collection. The collection currently includes Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary and Halo Reach, with it eventually also featuring Halo 2, 3, ODST and 4. Microsoft reckons the other titles will launch over the rest of this year. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is available as part of Xbox Game Pass for PC, it's also available on the Windows Store as well as Steam.

Much loved upon original release, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary might show its age a little now, but we suspect nostalgia will play a valuable role here. 

The game is available now.