'Halo: Reach' arrives on PC and Xbox One as part of 'The Master Chief Collection'

Mike Snider | USA TODAY

The Master Chief Collection, enhanced versions of the popular Halo series of Xbox video game, is finally arriving on PCs.

"Halo: Reach," a prequel to the original 2001 "Halo: Combat Evolved," a game that helped drive the success of the original Xbox console, was released Dec. 3 for PCs and Xbox One. It can be purchased as part of "Halo: The Master Chief Collection" ($39.99) or individually for $9.99 on PCs or Xbox One.

The game is also available on Xbox Game Pass (special offer of first three months for $1, then $4.99 monthly for PCs and $9.99-up for Xbox One).

"Halo: Reach" will be the fifth game in the Halo series to be optimized for Xbox One and improved PCs with up to 4K Ultra HD video and support for high dynamic range (HDR) for improved contrast, colors and details.

The game, originally released in 2010 for the Xbox 360, is a great entry point for those new to the Halo franchise because it takes place prior to the events of "Halo: Combat Evolved."

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Halo: Reach has now joined Halo: The Master Chief Collection on Xbox One and PC with @XboxGamePass, @MicrosoftStore, & @Steam.



Welcome to Reach: https://t.co/aTw5JfvSxv pic.twitter.com/K6IQ8wkxOt — Halo (@Halo) December 3, 2019

When "Halo: Reach" landed on Steam's PC game download service Wednesday the game "quickly attracted over 100,000 concurrent players according to Steam’s statistics," tech news site TechRadar reported. The game peaked at a "mighty impressive" player count of just over 161,000.

Microsoft originally released The Master Chief Collection for the Xbox One in 2015 with the first four adventures of hero Master Chief: "Halo: Combat Evolved," "Halo 2," "Halo 3" and "Halo 4."

Enhanced versions of each of those games will be coming to PCs in 2020 in their order of original release. Also on the way to PCs and Xbox One as part of the Master Chief Collection: an enhanced "Halo 3: ODST," originally released in 2009.

Microsoft also announced more than 50 additional games coming to its Game Pass including "Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition" and Microsoft Flight Simulator (PCs), "RAGE 2" (on consoles now, coming soon to PC), and "Minecraft Dungeons" and "Wasteland 3" (now on console and PCs).

The announcements came at Microsoft's X019 held in London Thursday. The event continues Friday and Saturday.

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Tune in live on @WatchMixer: https://t.co/dyRlrnqsQT pic.twitter.com/NUrFIvcfSn — Xbox ➡️ X019 🇬🇧 (@Xbox) November 14, 2019

Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.