Why The Full Version Of Halo 5 Isn't On PC

A portion of Halo 5: Guardians, the Forge mode, is available on PC. But the full game, including campaign and matchmaking multiplayer, is still exclusive to Xbox One. Why isn't the full experience on PC? Xbox boss Phil Spencer said in a new interview that it would be technically possible to put Halo 5 on PC, but he decided against this so developer 343 Industries can focus on what's next.

"Honestly the answer with Halo 5 is, I can go take last year's game, rework it to go on PC, or I can have 343 look forward in what they're going to go do," Spencer told PC Gamer. "You could say I'm cheating a little bit by doing a half thing with putting Forge on PC, because we kind of have the tools working on PC to see what happens."

Spencer pointed out that Microsoft did something similar with the Forza series, launching a free, scaled down version call Apex on PC. Microsoft later confirmed that all future Forza games will be available on Xbox One and PC. The thinking here is that Microsoft might be considering doing the same with the Halo franchise.

Asked directly if there was any ideological reason why Microsoft wouldn't release the next Halo game on PC, Spencer said, "Not at all."

In other Halo news, Microsoft announced today that Halo 5 is getting a 4K update, while Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo 4, and Halo: CE Anniversary will all be available on Xbox One later this year through backwards compatibility.

Nothing new for Halo was announced at E3, something some fans were disappointed about. Recently, Microsoft said it won't talk more about the next big Halo game for "quite some time." The company ruled out an announcement at Gamescom (August) or PAX Prime (September).