You can now play Halo: The Master Chief Collection’s multiplayer on Steam Deck
For grunt-sized hands
Forget rumours of a portable Xboy. Halo: The Master Chief Collection’s newest update has enabled matchmade multiplayer, and together with the custom game browser for the Steam Deck, you can now play some of the wackiest maps in any FPS from the comfort of your bed - or anywhere in the galaxy really. MCC’s multiplayer was previously disabled on Steam Deck since the mode required Easy Anti-Cheat, which has now been turned on.
343 Industries (the developers, not the traitorous ball of terror) have also released a list of known issues for the Steam Deck version. One such issue puts the game into a childish opposite day. Selecting the anti-cheat enabled option, for example, will launch the game with anti-cheat disabled. So, if you want to access multiplayer, you’ll need to launch the game with anti-cheats disabled. Very confusing, I know. There are a few other issues for Steam Deckers, such as the inability to play campaign co-op with PC and Xbox spartans, but you can read the full list of issues here.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection packages up John Halo’s first four adventures with waifu Cortana, plus the two ancillary shooters, Halo: Reach and Halo: ODST. This includes all six classic campaigns (some of them are very good) and over a hundred multiplayer maps (some of these are also very good.)
On the matchmade multiplayer side, Halo: MCC has some of the funnest maps around, in my mind, and most of them come from Halo 3’s physics-driven mayhem. There’s Valhalla, a symmetrical battleground that has spartans zig-zagging through tunnels, warthogs sliding across an open field, and airborne vehicles raining hell from above. Utter madness. I was going to namedrop a few more maps and expose my nerdom, but this paragraph is long enough already. Basically, the multiplayer’s casual nature makes them well-suited for on-the-go play.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection is available to buy for £30/$40/€40 on Steam, or you can buy the included games individually for a lower price. The collection’s also available through Game Pass. For those looking for a newer adventure with Grandpa Chief (yes, he’s over 50 now), Halo Infinite’s campaign is good fun, as well.
