Halo 3 Is Getting New Guns And Skins, 13 Years After Launch

Season 3 of Halo: The Master Chief Collection will be a particularly big deal for Halo 3. The game, which is 13 years old and quite special, is having a moment, and 343 Industries is doing something special with it to celebrate. Design director Max Szlagor said in a new blog post that Season 3 will contain many more customization options across the board, including brand-new content for Halo 3. That seems to include new guns in multiplayer that come from Halo 3: ODST. Yes, new guns are coming to a game that first released in 2007. The future is wild.

Season 3 will add new weapon skins, new visors, and "other content" for Halo 3, Szlagor said. This is a big deal because Halo 3 has never had weapon skins. "This marks the first step in our expansion of Halo 3 customization," Szlagor said.

Before this, 343 added weapon and vehicle skins to Halo: Combat Evolved, marking a first in the game's 19-year history.

One image in the blog post shows a custom-skin weapon strapped to a soldier's back. For Halo: CE, players can select whether or not they want to see the new skins, but the blog post regarding Halo 3's new skins doesn't mention this.

The same image also seems to suggest that Halo 3 is also adding weapons never seen before in Halo 3. In the image, we see a soldier wielding the Socom Magnum pistol, while another image shows the Silenced SMG. This is also a big deal, as these weapons are from Halo 3: ODST and have never been available in Halo 3 multiplayer.

Season 3 begins with the launch of Halo 3: ODST on PC. The first beta test for that is scheduled to begin in mid-August, with the full release coming sometime after.

The new cosmetic content can be unlocked by completing challenges in MCC. These include all manner of things like racking up kills with power weapons, getting head shots, and earning double kills, among many other things.

In other MCC news, the game is adding a long list of exciting new features in 2020, including crossplay, a custom game browser, keyboard and mouse support on Xbox One, and more.

All of this is happening alongside the development of Halo Infinite, which is being made by a separate team inside 343 Industries.