A new release tied to Halo 2 will delight those who grew up playing the classic shooter. Despite now being 20 years old, Halo 2 has remained relevant in recent years thanks to its inclusion in Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Not only has this kept the multiplayer portion of Halo 2 alive, but Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries) remastered the entire campaign to keep it accessible for new and old fans alike. Now, a new mod for the PC version of Halo 2 has come about and has made the game’s oldest playable version available to fans for the first time.
Coming from modding group Digsite, the initial demo for Halo 2 that was shown off at E3 in 2003 has now been released as free DLC for the game. This demo for Halo 2 is one of the most famous in the history of E3 and gave fans an early tease of what the highly anticipated sequel would have in store. While the demo was never shown off publicly, footage of it ended up appearing online and amped up the excitement for Halo 2 tenfold. Now, thanks to some help from Halo Studios, this demo has become playable to fans as a way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Halo 2.
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“Revisit the debut prototype of Halo 2 in this restoration of the notorious ‘Earth City’ demonstration, initially unveiled at the Xbox press conference during E3 2003,” reads the description. “For the first time ever, take it to the streets, your way, with support for cooperative action, optional navigation points to rehearse the exact demo path and an included ‘Playground’ version of the level, allowing free roam of the city. This release represents an effort to rebuild content originally designed for a different functioning game engine, the first campaign collaboration between Digsite and Halo Studios.”
If you’re looking to play this classic E3 demo of Halo 2 for yourself, there are a few things to take into account. For starters, the demo is one that those on Xbox consoles won’t be able to play as these versions of Halo: The Master Chief Collection don’t allow for mods. That leaves only the PC edition, but even in this regard, there are some omissions. In particular, only the Steam version of Halo 2: Anniversary is able to use this mod as it was released via Steam Workshop. So while those playing via the Xbox App for PC or Xbox Game Pass will be left out, it’s still a cool release for those who have access.
To download the free Halo 2 demo mod for yourself, you can find it right here.