Microsoft Sources: Halo 2 on Windows Vista in Early 2007
- May 15, 2006 16:37 PM PST
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Halo 2 is likely to arrive on the PC in early 2007, say Microsoft sources, and it's not likely to feature cross-platform, PC-to-Xbox gameplay. With Microsoft putting a huge emphasis on the built-in map editing tools, is Halo 2 destined to spawn the next Counter-Strike?
It's a well-known fact that Halo 2 will hit Microsoft's next-gen PC platform Windows Vista. But the key question is, when?
Though Microsoft has little to say officially, two high-level Microsoft employees have indicated Halo 2 will arrive for the PC sometime in early 2007.
Halo 2 is likely to arrive on Windows Vista in early 2007, say Microsoft sources
We met with Kevin Unangst, director of global marketing for Games for Windows, at E3 2006. Unangst told us that he expected Halo 2 to be released "a little beyond [Windows Vista's] launch." In a seperate meeting, Chris Donahue, director of business development for Games for Windows, told us that he expected that Halo 2 would hit the PC "just after" the launch of Windows Vista. The consumer version of Windows Vista is currently scheduled to come out in the first quarter of 2007.
But that's not all -- we gleaned a few more details about Halo 2 on Vista from those two meetings.
Interestingly, odds are that the Windows Vista version of Halo 2 will not support cross-platform gameplay with the console versions, even though Microsoft is making Xbox 360/PC cross-platform gameplay a central focus of its new Live Anywhere initiative.
The reason? Unangst told us that making Halo 2 cross-compatible would require "somebody to re-code the Xbox version" so that it could talk to the Windows Vista version. Minutes later, Donahue gave us a similar answer, but he sounded a little more optimistic that a solution could be found.
And graphics nuts can rest easy -- the new version of Halo 2 for Vista is said to look great, thanks to Vista's use of exotic Direct X 10 graphic effects.
Donahue also noted that the Windows Vista version of Halo 2 would include a built-in map editor and modding system -- a feature that Microsoft is especially keen to promote, given the massive success of the homebrew mod-turned-retail-juggernaut that is Counter-Strike.
Will Halo 2 lay the foundation for the next generation of homebrew games? Stay tuned.
