In a blog post posted last week, Microsoft talked about mods for Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC. In the blog post, 343 senior producer Michael Fahrny stated that even though Halo: Reach is relatively new on the PC, the team is considering working with fans to build a system that allows players to buy and sell mods in the Steam Workshop.
"For modding, we're very much still dipping our toes in the water. I have some long-term goals to empower the modding community more than they already are, but I'm not quite ready to go into details yet on that," Fahrny stated in the post.
Fahrny further expanded on the topic by stating that establishing the most important elements of modding for Halo on PC requires proper ground rules and guard rails. The first step has to be creating an End User License Agreement (EULA) that "clearly defines what we will support being done while also maintaining the integrity of our game service and protected environments (think matchmaking)."
The work on an EULA began back in November and a draft is currently under review from Microsoft's lawyers. Once the EULA gets a green flag, Microsoft can begin their work on "what potential tools our team can commit to and prioritize work around them."
Fahrny also expressed how he is a fan of games that offer support for modding. He believes that modding helps in extending the longevity of games and gives players the freedom to tinker around. Modding also gives the community something new in return. "It's important to me as a player and I can finally bring that with me into MCC," Fahrny said.
Fahrny is also considering to make the mod-managing tools easy to use for less tech-savvy people. "The current ways can be complicated and lead to people getting themselves into bad states," he said. "It's just not good for long term modding health. More official tools, things like Steam Workshop support, etc. are the best path forward," he said.
Currently, the Master Chief Collection on PC includes Halo: Reach. In the future, Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo 4 will join the collection. Halo: Combat Evolved is the first up, and will undergo a test phase in February.
