‘Forge – Halo 5: Guardians Edition’ Tools Will Include Custom Games, But No Matchmaking On Windows 10

With the buzz surrounding the announcement of Forge – Halo 5: Guardians Edition for Windows 10 yesterday, many people wondered exactly what the tool editor would entail for Windows 10 users. While the post on Xbox Wire, as reported by The Inquisitr previously, detailed many of the PC-specific features that the Windows 10 version of Halo 5’s Forge editor will get, it didn’t provide a lot of detail in terms of how the map sharing and testing would work.

Well, studio head Josh Holmes, speaking on the Team Beyond forums (via Gamespot), Holmes expanded on what players can expect from Forge – Halo 5: Guardians Edition on Windows 10. Holmes mentioned that the intent is to give players a “chance to play full custom games to test Forge creations on PC.” Additionally, he went on to say that the same maps and modes existing in Arena are available as they are when playing on Xbox One.

Holmes also mentioned that Forge – Halo 5: Guardians Edition for Windows 10 will not have a traditional server browser or even matchmaking, as there isn’t the support for that in place. If you want to play your Forge creations with your friends on PC, you’ll need to invite them using Xbox Live.

The intent of the experience is to allow Win10 users to Forge more effectively w/ keyboard and mouse and test their creations on PC before publishing to Xbox One. As such, there is no support for matchmaking or server browser. You will need to invite friends into a session through LIVE.

So, looking at the messaging from Holmes, anything you can do on Forge for Xbox One can be done on Windows 10, and vice versa. The maps will be playable on PC, and you can publish them to Xbox One. Forge has long been requested on PC going back to Halo 3. So to many, this is Microsoft finally giving fans a long requested feature. The precision of a mouse and keyboard could really help to make better maps overall. Forge creators will be able to use the precision devices the developers used when making Halo 5: Guardians, and all Halo 5: Guardians players will benefit from that extra help. Additionally, when testing the maps and playing Forge – Halo 5: Guardians Edition on Windows 10, Windows users will be able to use PC controls, meaning mouse and keyboard.

Many have speculated that Forge – Halo 5: Guardians Edition for Windows 10 is a precursor to a true Halo 5: Guardians launch on Windows 10. I reached out to Microsoft, and a Microsoft Spokesman doubled down on their assertion that there are no plans to bring Halo 5: Guardians to Windows 10 in a statement provided below.

Forge – Halo 5: Guardians Edition on Windows 10 is a free publishing tool designed for map makers and creators to build and play their creations on Windows 10 and also publish these experiences to Xbox One. As we’ve shared previously, we do not have plans to launch Halo 5: Guardians on Windows 10. We are focused on building Halo Wars 2 for Windows 10 and Xbox One. Releasing Forge for Windows 10 for free will open up endless opportunities to the PC community to build and play Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer content, while also allowing them to share their creations with gamers on Xbox One as well.

While Microsoft continues to say that there are no plans to launch Halo 5 on Windows 10, Josh Holmes has teased on Twitter that Forge on Windows 10 is just the “beginning.” This does leave the idea in gamer’s minds that maybe future Halo content aside from Halo Wars 2 could hit Windows 10 in the future. For now, Forge – Halo 5: Guardians edition gives Windows 10 users yearning for a Halo experience on Windows 10 a free way to play Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer and Forge creations with friends, and it gives current Forge creators new, more precise tools to create maps for the community as a whole.

Likely, Microsoft will detail more of their plans at E3 in June, so fans eager for information should stay tuned to their press briefing happening June 13 at 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT. You can watch their press conference on Twitch, YouTube, SpikeTV, and using your video player on your Xbox One or Xbox 360 console.

[Image via Microsoft]