Halo 3 gets free 64-player multiplayer exclusive to PC users

For the first time in its history, Halo 3 is playable with up to 64 players, and it’s like the second-coming of its Xbox Live glory days.

Halo’s best multiplayer is undoubtedly Halo 3. Credit to Halo 2 for paving the way, but Bungie arguably perfected its formula for the third instalment on the Xbox 360.

Since 2007 though, the franchise has changed drastically. It’s changed hands not once but twice, with Activision now taking ownership of its future.

Now it’s changing once again thanks to the continued, passionate work and support of fans. There’s no greater example of that passion than Project Reclaimer, a new, standalone Halo 3 launcher that only requires a copy of Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

A public build isn’t available yet, but a select number of fans and content creators such as Mint Blitz were invited to give it a go for themselves.

The result is a version of Halo 3 that lets you play with 63 other players in PvP multiplayer, or 15 other players in the campaign.

It’s reminiscent of the 128-player multiplayer of Halo: Combat Evolved which surfaced last week.

As you can see from Mint Blitz’s footage, it’s utter chaos when a full lobby is involved. It makes Halo’s official game mode Big Team Battle look tiny in comparison.

You can even play a new-and-improved Halo 3 Forge mode which lets you drop in and script NPCs from the game.

It’s a hefty expansion and one PC users should definitely take advantage of once it lands in the mainstream.

Is Halo Project Reclaimer a glimpse into an Activision Warzone future?

What’s especially interesting about Halo Project Reclaimer is how this could be a sneak-peek at the future of the franchise.

It’s safe to say that Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries) direly mismanaged the IP. Halo: Campaign Evolved was a win in my opinion, but in the end there were just far too many missteps for the brand to recover.

While fans were horrified to learn Activision will be taking the reins from now on, it may actually be a necessary evil.

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Activision is a company that’s excelled at online multiplayer. Even some of the weakest Call of Duty titles had packed multiplayer lobbies for months after launch, and the scale keeps expanding with spin-offs like Call of Duty: Warzone.

I don’t think Activision can deliver a suitable single-player campaign set in the world of Halo, especially if those rumours of a Master Chief origin story are true, but I think multiplayer could actually be a step-forward.

However, that’s not to say I want Halo to become the bloated collab-fest that Call of Duty is currently known as. We don’t need our custom-made spartans rocking Snoop Dogg paraphernalia.

Project Reclamation is the one of the best spins on Halo multiplayer we’ve ever seen, and if its jam-packed lobbies and unleashed sandbox can be officially replicated for future entries, I think the franchise could actually recover.

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