Halo: Reach Is Now Available on Xbox One and Xbox Game Pass

Halo fans have a lot to celebrate today with the release of Halo: Reach on Xbox Game Pass. The game has been added to Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which can be played free on Game Pass. Those without Game Pass can also play Halo: Reach by purchasing The Master Chief Collection separately for $39.99. Despite Master Chief’s presence in the anthology’s title, players actually take on the role of Noble Six in Halo: Reach. That’s because Halo: Reach is actually a prequel to the original Halo game, Halo: Combat Evolved.

Originally released in 2010 for Xbox 360, Halo: Reach is the fifth and final game in the series developed by series creator Bungie. Bungie launched the franchise with Combat Evolved on the original Xbox, but left shortly after the release of Reach in order to develop their own wholly owned shooter franchise, Destiny.

The official Xbox Game Pass Twitter account had been counting down to the game’s release over the last few days. That hype is certainly worth it. Halo: Reach released to rave reviews in 2010, winning a handful of awards, including Best Multiplayer from the Spike Game Awards, as well as Game of the Year from GameSpy.

In Halo: Reach, Noble Team is an elite Spartan group tasked with protecting the planet Reach from the invading forces of The Covenant. As the main military base for the United Nations Space Command, Reach is an important tactical location, and players must defend it, as well as the millions of civilians living on the planet. A newcomer to Noble Team, Noble Six becomes a central figure in the storyline of the franchise. By the game’s end, Halo: Reach directly sets up the events of Halo: Combat Evolved, giving players a new perspective on some elements of the original game.

In addition to Xbox One and Xbox Game Pass, Halo: Reach is also available on Steam, as of today. The game is apparently performing fairly well on PC at the moment, with more than 100,000 current players, as of this afternoon.

Have you played Halo: Reach? Do you plan on checking it out for the first time? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!