Halo: The Master Chief Collection is a compilation of first-person shooter (FPS) video games in the Halo series for the Xbox One and Microsoft Windows. Released originally on the Xbox One on November 11, 2014, and later in 2019 on PC the collection was developed by 343 Industries in partnership with other studios and was published by Microsoft Studios. The collection consists of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2 Anniversary, Halo 3, Halo 4, and Halo: Reach, which were originally released on earlier Xbox platforms. Each game in the release received a graphical upgrade, with Halo 2 receiving a high-definition redesign of its audio and visuals that are exclusive to the collection. The game includes access to the live-action series Halo: Nightfall as well as the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta that was available for a limited time.
Each game in the compilation retained its original story and gameplay, with the exception of Halo 2's cutscenes which were extended by Blur Studio. The collection's multiplayer features every map originally released with each title, including six remastered Halo 2 maps.
Critics generally praised The Master Chief Collection for its updated audio and visuals, as well as its quantity of content, but criticized the multiplayer aspect of the collection due to a significant number of bugs and poor matchmaking experiences. Many of these technical issues were later fixed in a number of post-release patches. On May 30, 2015, the campaign mode of Halo 3: ODST was made available for the collection,[2] with Halo: Reach added in 2019 alongside a port of the collection to Microsoft Windows.