Why is Halo 5 not on the Master Chief Collection?

As a long-time Halo fan who lives and breathes the franchise, believe me when I tell you I was extremely disappointed when Halo 5 failed to launch as part of 2014‘s Master Chief Collection (MCC). You‘d think Microsoft‘s celebratory packaging of the first four mainline Halo shooters for Xbox One would also include thenext chapter in Master Chief‘s saga. Yet here we are, over seven years later, with no sign of Halo 5 ever coming to MCC.

But why? As someone who writes daily about Halo news and updates at The Halo Gazette, I‘ve done plenty of digging into the real reasons behind Halo 5‘s MCC absence. And with new consoles and production tools potentially changing the equation, I also speculate about whether we could still see its future inclusion.

First, let‘s tackle the major factors that have kept Halo 5 separated from MCC so far:

1. Massive File Size Prevents Easy Integration

At a gargantuan 99GB, Halo 5‘s base campaign and multiplayer assets nearly match the 125GB storage footprint for every game currently packed into MCC. Developers at 343 Industries created Halo 5 using a fully new engine, resulting in higher-resolution art that eats up space compared to MCC‘s upgraded classic Halo titles.

Simply put, combining Halo 5 with MCC would bloat the collection‘s install size to an unprecedented 225GB, requiring over one-third of a base Xbox Series S 512GB hard drive for a single game compilation. Even the 1TB hard drives in premium Xbox Series X consoles would struggle hosting MCC with Halo 5 onboard.

2. Campaign Focuses on Locke, Not Master Chief

Frankly, much of Halo 5‘s campaign doesn‘t even focus on the Master Chief. You play over half the missions as Spartan Locke leading Fireteam Osiris. Halo 5 essentially serves as backstory for the Chief‘s Halo Infinite sequel search to find Cortana.

Given 343 designed MCC specifically to celebrate Master Chief‘s early soldier journey, it makes some sense narratively to exclude a game spending copious amounts of time with other protagonists. Still, as diehard fans, we know Halo 5 remains essential to fully understanding what‘s happened leading up to Infinite.

3. Multiple Engines Cause Development Headaches

Existing MCC Halo games run on an updated, unified game engine allowing better visuals while maintaining original gameplay integrity. But 343 built Halo 5 on its brand new in-house Slipspace engine to leverage Xbox One hardware.

Veteran studio head of engineering David Berger commented on the complex challenges of blending engines in a 2020 MCC documentary:

"Everything has to run in the same engine. You can‘t take different engines and bring them together easily. The networking has to work together. All the components have to work the same."

Without a massive overhaul, there‘s no straightforward way to combine Halo 5 with MCC.

So when you can‘t easily stitch together engines or replicate unanimous networking, getting wildly different games to play perfectly nice in a single package becomes an exercise in frustration. Believe you me, if Microsoft thought they could include Halo 5 in MCC from a technical perspective without monumental efforts rewriting both products, they would have done so already.

4. Unique Multiplayer Gameplay Styling

By introducing new Spartan maneuvering options like power sliding, ground pounding, and clambering, Halo 5 multiplayer delivers an experience totally distinct from any classic Halo title. Halo 5 competes for attention in MCC where Halo 3, Reach, and others tout traditional run-and-gun action Halo veterans know and love.

Integrating Halo 5‘s playlists and matchmaking with existing MCC modes risks fragmenting the player base. And good luck getting diehard fans of one style or the other to agree on preferred gameplay. Every Halo multiplayer iteration has its merits; blending them could spoil what makes each one great.

Now that we‘ve covered why Halo 5 hasn‘t already joined MCC, get ready for some original speculation about whether Microsoft could change their minds down the road. I‘ll also touch on some concerning usage statistics that argue against its inclusion…

Does Halo 5 on PC Provide a Glimmer of Hope?

When Microsoft decided to release MCC on PC in 2019, you better believe the Halo community wondered if official Halo 5 PC ports might come eventually as well. After all, bringing the entire Master Chief saga to computers could help future proof it for the platform.

Renowned industry leaker Brad Sams backed this theory on PC Gamer‘s podcast:

“Halo 5 is coming to PC, I’m telling you. I have very good reason to believe that is in the works.”

My expert guess? We might see Halo 5 ported to PC as a standalone title before any MCC integration happens. If engines prove less problematic combining a Windows version of Halo 5 with MCC, that builds a stronger case for also updating Xbox with the same configuration.

Do Halo 5 Population Stats Support Integration?

Popularity and active players matter when evaluating if investing to add Halo 5 to MCC makes strategic sense. Let‘s examine public data…

Halo 5 Lifetime Unique Players (per Microsoft 2020):

• Xbox One: Over 5 million

MCC Steam Peak Concurrent Players (per SteamDB):

• 161,000 on November 17, 2021

Those numbers seem promising! However, reviewing recent Steam charts tells a different story:

The Master Chief Collection eclipses Halo 5‘s fledgling community of modders working to hack together unofficial multiplayer support.

And at over 8 times the active players of MCC, buzz around the F2P Infinite suggests Microsoft should increase focus there instead of diverting resources to Halo 5 integration.

Does Storage Space Improve the Outlook?

Xbox Series X 1TB expandable SSD storage now readily supports games even larger than a combined MCC + Halo 5 install. And as production techniques like texture streaming mature, console ports might one day fit Halo 5 in far less than 99GB.

As a tech specialist, I remain confident Xbox platform advances will inevitably resolve file size blocks. By the time install footprint ceases to be an inclusion barrier, perhapsSlipspace engine refinements also help smooth out development snags.

Will We Ever See Halo 5 Added to MCC?

I won‘t lie to you – despite indications Microsoft may still want Halo 5 on PC someday, Xbox integration with MCC seems a stretch before an eventual next-gen overhaul. Comments from staff like creative director Barry Piatt emphasize Halo 5 wasn‘t designed for incorporation:

“There were no conversations around whether or not Halo 5 should be on Master Chief Collection when we were building it."

Nonetheless, no one predicted MCC coming to PC after years of Xbox exclusivity either. And 343 has demonstrated impressive dedication revamping MCC with features fans request.

So while I can’t promise Halo 5 ever joins The Master Chief Collection, history proves never say never. Halo’s got a track record of surprises.

Do you agree the obstacles seem difficult to overcome? Or do you see signs of hope Halo 5 may someday complete the package? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!