You know how we gamers can be. Console fanboyism is rife, and some of us will defend our preferred formats to the bitter end. All the while, though, we totally want what we can’t have. Xbox, PC and Switch players around the world are all envious of barnstorming PS4 exclusive Marvel’s Spider-Man, whether they’ll admit it or not.
PC players eager to get their hands on Halo 5: Guardians, meanwhile, have had their hopes cruelly taken from them. Microsoft have clarified that the game isn’t being ported to Windows after all.
Let’s rewind a little. Earlier this week, an unwitting ‘leak’ from Amazon made it seem as though Master Chief’s latest was Switch-bound. The only evidence for this, as we reported, was that the boxart displayed on the site had a new panel that read Xbox console exclusive, rather than only on Xbox One. Watertight evidence, this was not, but the rumour mill went into overdrive regardless.
It’s not unusual for some of Xbox’s biggest exclusive properties to make the jump to PC, after all. Hardly beyond the realms of possibility. If they are going to, then Halo would probably be a great fit. As any PC gamer will tell you, mouse and keyboard controls just cannot be beaten with some titles, the FPS genre above all.
Microsoft, though, aren’t having any of that sort of talk. As a spokesman for the company told CNET, “As we've shared previously, we do not have plans to launch Halo 5: Guardians on Windows 10 PC." That’s some straight-up, iron-fisted PR spiel, right there. We’ve been through this before, you were foolish to believe again, and your hopes? We just dashed them. That’s basically the message here, just wrapped up in a pretty flowery bow.
Don’t get too disheartened though, PC players. The franchise is coming to your rigs, in the form of Halo Infinite. This next instalment (which is essentially just Halo 6, Microsoft have confirmed) is currently in development for both Xbox One and PC.
This does leave PC-only players with a bit of a conundrum, though: how do you know where you’re at, in Master Chief’s convoluted story? The series has seen very little action on PC, and many of us would be hopping in at the sixth entry. Still, as Xbox boss Phil Spencer has stated, there have been faint rumblings of a possible series collection coming to Windows. Just maybe. Let’s just stay tuned and see what comes of this.