Halo: The Master Chief Collection's public testing phase, originally planned for April, is now unlikely to kick off before E3. Developer 343 Industries has been teasing a beta since just after the port announcement, though it's been taking a little longer than anticipated to get the game ready for players.
"Currently it doesn't look like public flighting will begin prior to E3," 343 community director Brian Jarrard wrote on Reddit. "The team has made a lot of progress on a number of areas but everything is just taking time (in some cases longer than initially anticipated)."
In an update at the end of April, Jarrard explained that making the changes for PC was a complicated process that necessitated some extra time. Mouse and keyboard controls, as well as the UI, was a priority, he said, but wasn't in a good enough state for public testing.
A recent progress report revealed some new details about the port, including the addition of a Reach-style progression system that will let players unlock rewards and will include levels and seasons. One of the reasons it's taking longer, according to 343, is the team's not content with making a straight port, instead aiming for a game that's "authentic to Halo and the PC platform".
E3 2019 begins on June 11.
Cheers, PCGamesN.
