Last month, 343 Industries announced that Halo: The Master Chief Collection would launch with 12 different multiplayer playlists. Of course, a lot can change in a month, and change it has. In last week's Halo Waypoint update, 343 Industries shared a number of changes to the playlist lineup, giving us a breakdown of the playlists that will be available at launch.
The biggest change is the temporary delay for the dedicated Halo: Combat Evolved playlist.
"Up until this very day, we’ve been making (and are continuing to make) investments to ensure that Halo: CE’s online/network performance is the best it can be within Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and we’re committed to making additional investments to make this happen," the developer explained. "The current Halo: CE experience will be playable in custom games, as well as the Team Slayer and Big Team Battle playlists, but we are holding on the dedicated playlist until we are able to provide the best experience possible. Lastly, due to your feedback over the past few weeks, we’ll be moving the Halo: CE playlist to 2v2 when it launches."
The Team hardcore playlist will now launch only with Halo 2 Classic tournament-approved game types. "Behind the scenes, we're working to integrate Halo 3's custom map variant files into the playlists, and they aren't quite ready just yet," 343 said. "As custom map layouts are extremely important to this playlist and community, we'll be adding the Halo 3 game types into the list when they can be fully integrated, tested, and brought in.
Those seem to be the most noteworthy changes, but below is a final breakdown of playlists available for tomorrow's launch of Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
TEAM SLAYER
Eliminate the enemy team across four Halo games: Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 2: Anniversary. Nothing but Team Slayer, 24/7. 4v4.
Game Types: Halo: CE Team Slayer, H2 Team Slayer, H2 Team BR, H2A Team Slayer, H2A Team Slayer BR, H3 Team Slayer, H3 Team Slayer BR
Maps: Battle Creek, Damnation, Rat Race, Prisoner, Hang ‘em High, Chill Out, Derelict, Wizard, Lockout, Ascension, Midship, Ivory Tower, Beaver Creek, Colossus, Zanzibar, Foundation, Warlock, Sanctuary, Turf, Elongation, Gemini, Warlord, Lockdown, Zenith, Shrine, Stonetown, Bloodline, Assembly, Citadel, Construct, Ghost Town, Snowbound, Heretic, High Ground, Isolation, Last Resort, Narrows, Orbital, The Pit, Standoff, Guardian
HALO CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
The official Halo eSports playlist, featuring the Halo 2: Anniversary Halo Championship Series rule set. 4v4.
Game Types: HCS Team Slayer, HCS Neutral Bomb Assault, HCS 3 Flag CTF, HCS 5 Flag CTF, HCS Team Crazy King
Maps: Shrine, Lockdown, Warlord
TEAM HALO 2: ANNIVERSARY
Play a mix of Team Slayer and objective game types on re-mastered maps. 4v4.
Game Types: Team Slayer, Team Slayer BR, CTF BR, Oddball BR, Territories BR, 1 Flag CTF BR, Multi-Bomb Assault BR, Neutral Bomb Assault BR, Ricochet BR, 1 Bomb Assault BR
Maps: Warlord, Lockdown, Zenith, Shrine, Stonetown, Bloodline
BIG TEAM BATTLE
Battle it out in 16-player warfare with vehicles across Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 4, and Halo 2: Anniversary. 8v8.
Game Types: Halo: CE Team Slayer, Halo: CE CTF, Halo: CE Team King, H2 BTB Team Slayer, H2 1 Flag CTF, H2 1 Bomb Assault, H2 Multi-Flag CTF, H2 Crazy King, H2 Muti-Bomb, H2A BTB Team Slayer, H2A Team BR, H2A 1 Flag CTF BR, H2A 1 Bomb Assault BR, H2A Crazy King BR, H2A 3 Plots BR, H2A Gungoose CTF, H3 BTB Team Slayer, H3 Multi-Flag CTF, H3 Multi-Bomb, H3 1 Flag CTF, H3 1 Bomb Assault, H3 Territories, H3 Team Crazy King, H4 BTB Slayer Pro, H4 CTF
Maps: Sidewinder, Hang ‘em High, Blood Gulch, Ice Fields, Death Island, Danger Canyon, Infinity, Timberland, Gephyrophobia, Burial Mounds, Zanzibar, Coagulation, Headlong, Waterworks, Containment, Relic, Terminal, District, Uplift, Stonetown, Bloodline, Avalanche, Last Resort, Longshore, Rat’s Nest, Sandtrap, Standoff, Valhalla, Wreckage, Harvest, Shatter, Vertigo
(H2A) RUMBLE PIT
Challenge seven other opponents on re-mastered maps. This is your fight and yours alone. 8-player Free-For-All.
Game Types: H2A Slayer, H2A Slayer BR, H2A Crazy King, H2A Juggernaut, H2A Oddball
Maps: Warlord, Lockdown, Zenith, Shrine
*Note: As previously announced, the Rumble Pit Playlist will focus on Halo 2: Anniversary at launch, and integrate / move to additional games post-launch.
HALO 2 CLASSIC
It’s back. A mix of the most popular Team Slayer and objective game types from the original Halo 2. 4v4.
Game Types: Team Slayer, Team Slayer BR, 1 Flag CTF BR, Crazy King, Team Ball BR, Neutral Bomb, Multi-Fag CTF, Multi-Flag CTF BR, Team Snipers, 1 Bomb Assault, 1 Bomb Assault BR, Multi-Bomb BR, 3 Plots BR
Maps: Lockout, Ascension, Midship, Ivory Tower, Beaver Creek, Elongation, Colossus, Gemini, Zanzibar, Foundation, Warlock, Sanctuary, Turf
HALO 3
A selection of fan-favorite Team Slayer and objective game types from Halo 3. 4v4.
Game Types: Team Slayer, Team Slayer BR, Multi-Flag CTF, Multi-Bomb, Team Crazy King, Team Ball, Multi-Flag CTF, 1 Flag CTF, 1 Bomb Assault, Territories, Neutral Bomb
Maps: The Pit, Construct, Heretic, Assembly, Blackout, Citadel, Cold Storage, Ghost Town, Guardian, High Ground, Isolation, Last Resort, Narrows, Orbital, Standoff
HALO 4
A mix of Team Slayer and objective game types from Halo 4, on a selection of small to medium-sized maps. 5v5.
Game Types: Team Slayer, Legendary Slayer BR, Team Crazy King, Team Ball, Extraction, CTF
Maps: Haven, Adrift, Abandon, Solace, Monolith, Landfall, Skyline, Pitfall, Vertigo
TEAM HARDCORE
A collection of tournament-approved game types from Halo 2 and Halo 3. The Battle Rifle is your primary weapon. 4v4.
Game Types: H2 Hardcore Team Slayer, H2 Hardcore Team Ball, H2 Hardcore CTF MidWar, H2 Hardcore Assault, H2 Hardcore CTF Sanctuary
Maps: Lockout, Midship, Sanctuary, Warlock, Beaver Creek
SWAT (ROTATIONAL)
Aim for the head! A collection of SWAT game types on our favorite maps from Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 4, and Halo 2: Anniversary. Players have no shields and are equipped with rifles. 4v4.
Game Types: H2 Team SWAT, H2A Team SWAT, H3 Team SWAT, H4 Team SWAT, plus a sampling of SWAT Objective game types from each game, including CTF and Crazy King
Maps: Lockout, Ascension, Midship, Ivory Tower, Beaver Creek, Colossus, Warlock, Sanctuary, Turf, Elongation, Gemini, Zenith, Lockdown, Warlord, Shrine, Adrift, Haven, Landfall, Monolith, Skyline, Pitfall, Vertigo
While we're still awaiting the game's launch to review the multiplayer component, you can still check out our thoughts on the single-player offerings of The Master Chief Collection.
