Microsoft "Taking Extra Time" For Halo Backwards Compatibility Additions

Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that four Halo games--Halo: CE Anniversary, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo 4--are coming to Xbox One through backwards compatibility. That still hasn't happened, and developer 343 Industries has now given another update on the matter--and it sounds like the games should be added to the catalog soon.

In its latest weekly blog post, 343 said it understands that players are "very eager" to bring the four Xbox 360 games to Xbox One. The backwards compatibility team is "hard at work on final polish," 343 added, so it sounds like the release is coming up shortly.

"We are eager to get them into your hands!" 343 said. "The Xbox back-compat team is hard at work on final polish and we continue to work closely with them to help test and evaluate all four games for launch.

"We're taking extra time to ensure the experience lives up to fan expectations but I hear we're making great progress and release should be getting closer."

Back in July, when the backwards compatibility news was announced, Microsoft said the four games would be out later this year, so they aren't late.

All of the DLC for the four Xbox 360 Halo games is now free. That's good news because it means the player bases won't be fragmented and that every player will have access to every map released across the titles.

While the four games are already playable on Xbox One through Master Chief Collection, adding the titles by way of backwards compatibility is a nice gesture. If you own a copy of one of these four games, you can simply put one of the disks in your Xbox One to play once they're made available. They'll also be available to buy and download individually if you don't already own them.