343 Industries, the developers of the Halo franchise, are working alongside a group of dedicated modders called Digisite to restore assets and cut content from the early days of the original Halo game. This collaborative effort aims to bring back elements that were left on the cutting room floor, including content from as far back as the 1999 demo of Halo: Combat Evolved.
In an announcement on Halo Waypoint, a community writer for 343 Industries shared that the restoration of previously cut content from the first Halo game is now underway. The partnership with the modding team allows players to experience this old content in Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC.
Progress has been steadily made since the initial Cutting Room Floor blog posts nearly a year ago. The recent update reveals that the team has delved deep into the history of Halo, exploring forgotten folders and uncovering hidden gems from the game’s development process. The upcoming MCC update will showcase the fruits of their labor.
The dedicated team is currently resurrecting new maps using assets salvaged from the early demo builds of Halo: Combat Evolved. Among the new environments in progress are the Underground, a tight 4-8 player corridor created from an unfinished Gearbox Software indoor environment, and Abyss, an arena for 2-4 players that originated as the barebones Dusk arena seen during E3 2000. These previously unseen maps will finally see the light of day after two decades.
But the restoration efforts go beyond maps. The team is also introducing new weapons, including an Assault Rifle Grenade Launcher and an SMG with improved polygon counts, as well as new vehicles and enemies to enhance the gameplay experience.
While no specific release date has been provided, dedicated fans can anticipate the availability of the restored content through links to GitHub and the Steam Workshop in the future. The collaboration between 343 Industries and the modding community ensures that PC players will soon have access to the full Halo experience, complete with restored cut content and exciting additions to the game.
