Halo 5’s Forge map-making tool is coming to Windows 10 — without the full game

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The Halo series of first-person shooters left the PC back in 2004, but 343 Industries is bringing a key component to Windows 10: the Forge user-generated content toolset.

343 Industries said today in a blog post that Forge is coming to PC later this year. It will have keyboard and mouse support, more resolutions than the Xbox One version (including 4K), and cross-publishing, so that you can create content on Windows 10 and make it available for people playing on console or in the Forge PC tool. It will be a free app. The toolkit is all about making user-generated content for Halo players to enjoy, which is another way to keep customers engaged — something that’s becoming more important every year even in the retail game industry.

A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that the publisher has no plans to put Halo 5: Guardians on Windows 10. The last time a shooter in the series hit PC was Halo 2 in 2004. It’s concentrating on Halo Wars 2 for Windows 10 and Xbox One instead.

“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,” the spokesperson said.