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Quick Start Guide for Halo: The Master Chief Collection (MCC)

This guide quickly introduces the various ways to play in Halo: The Master Chief Collection and explains how to team up with friends. If you're new, this is a good place to start. If you need help getting the game installed, check How to Install Halo: the Master Chief Collection.

What is in Halo: The Master Chief Collection?

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is the ultimate way to play six different Halo games spanning over ten years. It’s available on both Xbox and Windows platforms, for direct purchase or through Xbox Game Pass.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection includes (in order of original release date):

  • Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
  • Halo 2 Anniversary
  • Halo 3
  • Halo 3: ODST
  • Halo: Reach
  • Halo 4

Each game in the series plays a little bit differently.

How to play Halo: The Master Chief Collection

There are many ways to play Halo: The Master Chief Collection (MCC), and all of them can be accessed from the main menu once you start the game on your Xbox or PC.

There are 3 main ways to play:

  • Campaigns are individual challenges that take you through the game’s story in a logical order.
    • You can play with friends on the same Xbox console via splitscreen.
    • On PC, you can play with friends over the Xbox network, but you can’t use splitscreen.
  • Multiplayer is where you can join other players in a match against real people online. If your friends are online or you’re playing with them in splitscreen, you can play with them too.
  • Firefight is where you can defend against waves of computer-controlled enemy force. You can play alone or with other players.

Where to start as a new player in Halo: The Master Chief Collection

To start playing Halo: The Master Chief Collection (MCC), you’ll want to choose Campaigns, Multiplayer, or Firefight from the main menu. The main menu is the one that appears after you press Start or Enter on the initial screen with the MCC logo.

If you’re totally new to Halo games, we recommend starting with a Campaign. To experience the games in the order they released, start with the Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary campaign.

To start playing a Campaign:

  1. On the main menu, select Campaigns.
  2. A list of each game within MCC will appear. We recommend starting with Halo: CE Anniversary, but you can select whichever.
  3. Next, if you’re new to Halo, we recommend you select Quick Start so you can quickly get to playing the campaign.
  4. On the Difficulty selection menu, choose a difficulty according to your skill level. Easy or Normal are the best choices for a new player.

After choosing a difficulty, the campaign mode will start.

In the future, to continue playing where you left off, select Resume instead of Quick Start at step 3.

How to play Halo: The Master Chief Collection with friends

You can play almost every part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection online using the Xbox network or with friends right next you with splitscreen.

Splitscreen is the term for when 2 or more people are playing on the same Xbox and the same screen. The screen is “split” to give each person their own section to play.

You can also play online with friends as long as they have their own copy of Halo: The Master Chief Collection and an Xbox account.

How to use splitscreen to play Halo: the Master Chief Collection multiplayer on an Xbox console

You will need two Xbox controllers connected to the Xbox console to use splitscreen.

  1. After starting Halo: The Master Chief Collection and getting to the main menu, press the X button on your Xbox controller to bring up the Roster The Roster menu is how you add people to your group and play Halo with them.
  2. You should see your name at the top of the list under a My Game Session banner on the right side of the screen.
  3. Have your friend press the A button on the second Xbox controller.
  4. A side panel will appear so your friend can select an Xbox profile to use.
    • If your friend doesn’t already have a profile, they can create one of their own, or select Add guest near the bottom of the panel so they can quickly jump in with a temporary profile.
    • A temporary profile will not keep any save data once it signs out.
  5. Once your friend has signed into a profile, you will be returned to the Roster. Your friend’s profile will be shown underneath yours.

Now, when you start a Campaign, play in Firefight, or play in a Multiplayer playlist, your friend will be with you and will be on your team (if applicable).

You can have up to 4 people play at the same time on the same Xbox console by using splitscreen. As long as you have an Xbox controller for each player, just add the 3rd and 4th person to the game the same way.

However, when playing with more than two people in splitscreen, only Multiplayer is available.

How to play Halo: the Master Chief Collection online with friends using the Xbox network

You can play online with a friend who has their own Halo: The Master Chief Collection game. If you want, you can even play with a friend who is playing on a PC while you are playing on an Xbox console using cross-play (don’t worry, that happens automatically). Campaign and Campaign Playlists currently cannot use cross-play.

To play with friends online, you must first add them as a friend on your Xbox account.

To add someone as an Xbox friend on an Xbox console:

  1. While signed into your Xbox account, press the Xbox button on your controller (the center one with the logo).
  2. On your left joystick, push to the right to show the People tab.
  3. On your left joystick, push down and highlight Find someone and press the A button.
  4. Select Search or add players with the A button.
  5. Type in your friend’s gamertag (the name of their Xbox account) and press the Menu button on your Xbox controller.
  6. In the displayed list, select your friend’s name with the A button.
  7. In the profile tab, select Add friend with the A button.
  8. Friend will already be selected, so select Submit at the bottom of the panel with the A button.

You are now friends with that person on the Xbox network!

To add someone as an Xbox friend on a PC:

  1. While in-game or on your PC’s desktop, press Windows Key + G to bring up the Game bar overlay (the Windows Key is the one with the Windows logo between Ctrl and Alt in the bottom left of most keyboards.)
  2. Click the Xbox Social window within the Game bar overlay.
  3. In the Xbox Social window, click the search bar below your own profile picture and type in your friend’s gamertag, then press the Enter.
  4. Find your friend’s name in the list and click the big + (plus sign) button next to their gamertag.

You are now friends with that person on the Xbox network!

There are many ways to add people as friends on your Xbox account, so if you’re having issues with these methods, check the Xbox Support article How to add new Xbox friends for more options.

 

To invite your Xbox network friend to your Roster in Halo: the Master Chief Collection:

Once the person you would like to play with has been added as your friend on the Xbox network, it’s time to invite them to your Roster within Halo: The Master Chief Collection. This will make sure they join your game sessions with you. You'll need to invite any friends you'd like to play with to your Roster each time you close and restart Halo: The Master Chief Collection. 

To add your friend to your Roster:

On an Xbox console:

  1. Once both you and your friend are at the main menu of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, press the X button.
  2. In the Roster panel that appears on the right side of the screen, you should see your friend.
  3. Highlight your friend's name and press the A button to select them.
  4. Select Invite Player with the A button to send them a game invite.
  5. When your friend receives and accepts the game invite, their name will appear in the Roster list underneath My game session.

You are now ready to play together!

On PC:

  1. Once you and your friends are both at the main menu of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, click the Roster button in the top-right of the screen.
  2. In the Roster panel that appears on the right side of the screen, you should see your friend.
  3. Click your friend’s name and select Invite Player.
  4. When your friend receives and accepts the game invite, their name will appear in the Roster list underneath My game session.

You are now ready to play together!

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