Are Halo Games Cross-Platform (And Which Ones)?

Halo: Master Chief Collection screenshot

The Halo games have been some of the most popular games ever since the turn of the 21st century, as Halo has allowed people to enjoy a good story and an equally good multiplayer feature that lets you play with your friends and random people. On top of that, Halo is available on multiple platforms, and that allows more people to enjoy the game. In that regard, are the Halo games cross-platform?

All of the Halo games are currently cross-platform, except for Halo 5: Guardians because it is the only game that isn’t available on multiple platforms. The original versions of Halo 1 to 4 did not allow cross-platform. However, the Master Chief Collection has recently allowed cross-platform.

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It is understandable why the developers would make Halo cross-platform, considering that many people play games on different systems. As such, it was a good decision to make the Halo games cross-platform so that you can enjoy the games with your friends who may have different preferences when it comes to platforms. With that said, let’s look at what we know about Halo’s cross-platform option.

Are the Halo games cross-platform?

Cross-platform gaming has become quite popular nowadays thanks to the rise of different platforms that allow people to enjoy different types of games. And considering that a lot of games are available on different platforms, it’s only right that the developers made these games to be cross-platform in the sense that people who are playing the same game on different systems can still play with one another online.

That said, Halo has always been a mainstay in the video gaming market ever since Halo: Combat Evolved was released in 2001, together with the first Xbox console. Since the game’s release, Halo has been a mainstay on the Xbox console and has also made its way to the PC via Windows. This means that there are plenty of gamers who can enjoy Halo on both the Xbox and the PC systems.

There are a lot of Halo gamers nowadays, especially because a lot of these players have been following the series since the very first release. A lot of those gamers also play on different platforms. So, are the Halo games cross-platform?

Well, yes and no. Halo games are cross-platform in the sense that some of these games are made to be able to allow you to play with and against different players from different platforms. However, there are some Halo games that are not cross-platform because of their hardware limitations and the fact that they are only available on one platform.

Halo Infinite

Nevertheless, there are more Halo games that are available for you to play cross-platform than there are that aren’t cross-platform. That’s why you don’t have to worry about whether or not you’re playing a Halo game that doesn’t have cross-platform features.

Which Halo games allow cross-platform?

Now that you know that there are Halo games that are cross-platform, which Halo games actually allow you to do that? Well, if you’re looking at the latest releases of the Halo games, all but Halo 5: Guardians allow cross-platform multiplayer. The reason why Halo 5 isn’t cross-platform is the fact that it is only available on the Xbox One and is yet to be released on the PC.

However, the original releases of some of the games are not cross-platform. In that regard, Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4 in their original forms were not cross-platform games. Luckily, that all changed.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which contains all of the main Halo games from the very first one until Halo 4, has recently allowed players to play the different Halo games in the collection cross-platform. As such, you can play all of the Halo games under the Master Chief Collection cross-platform.

Meanwhile, the latest game, which is Halo Infinite, has always allowed cross-platform since the game was first released. This means that you don’t have to worry about whether or not you have to wait for an update that will allow cross-platform multiplayer in Halo Infinite.

How to play Halo cross-platform?

Considering that the Master Chief Collection has made Halo 1 to 4 cross-platform, it has become quite popular among OG Halo gamers. However, how do you enable cross-platform in those games?

What you need to do first is to go to the settings on your selected Halo game. Go to the network menu and then look for the option called platform-based matchmaking, which you should disable. This will allow you to play with different players regardless of the platform that they are using, as Xbox games can now play with PC players.

Halo Infinite

If you and your friends are all playing in the same system, there is no need for you to toggle this option on or off unless you want to play against players that are playing on different platforms. Then again, PC gamers usually have an advantage over controller-based players because how it is easier to play first-person shooters on your keyboard and mouse.

Meanwhile, although this option isn’t a necessary step, you might want to also enable the all regions option so that you can play with other players from different regions. This can be disadvantageous for people who are playing in regions with slower internet connections, but it can be fun if you want to experience playing with people from other regions all over the world.

However, take note that cross-platform multiplayer will not work on the campaign and Spartan Ops. This means that you should only play these modes when you are playing together with friends on the same system you are playing on.

Meanwhile, if you’re playing Halo Infinite regardless of what platform you are using, the good news is that there is no need for you to toggle anything on or off to play cross-platform. That’s because Halo Infinite is already cross-platform from the moment you play multiplayer. You won’t even be able to tell which system the player is using in Halo Infinite.

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