‘Halo 5’ Forge Hits PC On September 8 With ‘Anvil’s Legacy’ Update


The original Halo 5 content update roadmap was originally supposed to end with the release of Firefight. 343 Industries announced one more update for the Xbox One exclusive Wednesday, along with a release date for the Windows 10 PC version of the Forge tool and the promised in-game content browser.

Anvil’s Legacy is scheduled to be released to Halo 5 on September 8 and will bring new maps, weapons, REQs, and other content to Halo 5 on the Xbox One plus the in-game content browser. Both new maps take players to the Elite homeworld of Sanghelios. Mercy is the new Arena multiplayer entry that mixes open sightlines and tight corridors. Meanwhile, Warzone players will be able to deploy to the large-scale Temple map, which was designed with Warzone Assault in mind.

Details on the REQs, weapons, and armors were not shared yet, but the official description from Xbox Wire mentions “three new weapons, new Sound Dampener attachments, weapon and armor skins, and more.”

An in-game browser will be a welcome addition for Halo 5 players who are currently required to visit the Halo Waypoint website to mark which Forge created content they want to download to the console. This will allow them to do so straight from the console and even with the Forge PC release.

A look at the ‘Halo 5’ Forge editor for Windows 10 PCs. [Image via 343 Industries]
Forge – Halo 5: Guardians Edition will launch the same day for Windows 10 PCs. The map and game-making tool will be available from the Windows Store and includes mouse and keyboard support.

343 Industries demonstrated the Windows 10 version of Forge during the live stream at the Rooster Teeth Convention (RTX) in July and showed the finer level of control that will be afforded to map makers and content creators. The PC version will also feature community-developed tutorials to help guide users with their creations.

Creations made using Forge – Halo 5: Guardians Edition can be tested and played with up to 16 people on PCs. It’s not the full Halo 5 multiplayer experience, but it presents an opportunity for 343 Industries to develop and test the game engine on the Windows 10 platform. Any maps, modes, or mini-games created using Forge on the PC can be published to the Xbox One.

It is important to note matchmaking will not be supported with Forge on Windows 10. Players will be able to join and play custom games with others, but they’ll need to bring them in through their Xbox LIVE friends lists versus automatically being connected with others.

One of the new Sanghelios set multiplayer maps coming to ‘Halo 5’ via Anvil’s Forge. [Image via 343 Industries]
4K resolutions will be supported for the Windows 10 release of Forge – Halo 5: Guardians Edition. This is obviously not supported on the Xbox One, but is another aspect of the studio testing and iterating on the game engine for Windows 10.

Turn 10 Studios is doing something similar with Forza Motorsport 6: Apex for Windows 10. This is a pared down experience from the Forza 6 release on Xbox One, but one that provides an entry point for the racing simulator developer to bring its games over to Windows 10 without dealing with the headaches of a full game release with tons of unknown factors.

All future Forza titles will be released for both the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs as part of the Xbox Play Anywhere initiative, starting with Forza Horizon 3 in September. Future entries in the mainline Halo series have not officially been confirmed to be released for both platforms, but that appears to be the setup thus far. Halo Wars 2, however, is bringing its RTS action to both platforms.

Will you give Forge – Halo 5: Guardians Edition a whirl when it releases on September 8? Sound off in the comments below.

[Image via 343 Industries]

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