Almost forgotten by now, Halo: The Master Chief Collection was released in absolute condition on Xbox One. The games were in one piece, but rather than being a definitive remaster of one of Microsoft's greatest treasures, the series felt like it had been put together as quickly as possible on a shoestring budget.

The launch date faded into the mist because 343 Industries took charge of the project (there were multiple developers on the released game) and spent years relentlessly tweaking and polishing it, making Halo: MCC shine. Of course, a PC version was actually released.

I would now say that this package is not only an enormous value, but a definitive way to enjoy some of the classic FPS games. This is because 343 has added every single one of the pre-Infinite Halo titles, including "Halo 3: ODST" (one of the best campaigns in the series), retroactively fixed the broken PC port of "Halo 2" (opens in a new tab), for example, and added "Halo: Combat Evolved" because they are adding mod tools (opens in new tab), restoring cut content (opens in new tab), and other excesses. When the microtransaction plan provoked community grumbling, Microsoft canceled the plan (opens in new tab).

All of this suggests that Microsoft had serious internal discussions at launch about how to present the supposedly iconic Master Chief (and his eponymous collection).343 Industries clearly had both the will to improve the game and the have both the will and the money to continue to improve the game. And now, in what may be the biggest change to the game's PC player base to date, Steam Workshop integration has suddenly been added.

For those who don't know, Steam Workshop can basically be read as "simple mods." In a blog about the game's latest update, 343 writes (opens in new tab):

"Steam's version of Halo: The Master Chief Collection is now integrated with Steam Workshop... By using Steam Workshop...Steam players can now use Halo: The Master Chief Collection to play Halo: The Master Chief Collection on Steam, Steam players can now subscribe to mods such as multiplayer maps and play that content in-game without having to manually move or relocate downloaded files."

Also, Steam's Halo: The Master Chief Collection has been integrated with Steam Workshop.

In addition to this, the update adds mod tools for "Halo 2" and "Halo 4" and an "Excess Tool" that makes it easier for modders to package up existing mods to be compatible with the Workshop.

As you can see from the Workshop page (opens in a new tab), there are some great titles like Halo 2 Uncut, various complete overhauls of the game, oddities like the Resident Evil 4 location, Reach's giant rat fight, and the must play tonight Mods are already flooding in, including one called "Saving Sergeant Johnson" that must be played tonight.

The update includes a number of small bug fixes and tweaks, listed here (open in new tab). These were first added in Halo 3, but can now also be found in Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 4, and are collected by shooting them, appearing in a different mission each week. In other words, they are by no means big skulls, but if 343 continues to support Halo: MCC in this way, they can add as many funny birds as they like.