UPDATE – 20/03/2019 – 4:49 pm AEDT
A member of the Eldewrito team has contacted PowerUp! to advise that they and the team have not had anything to do with this alleged Halo 3 PC Port.
The Eldewrito source did not confirm whether or not this fan-made port does indeed exist or work, only that the Eldewrito team were never involved in its development.
The source writes;
This is entirely false and [the person who] sent you that link to the build is not of anyone on the ElDewrito team. Nothing they have said has been done by the ElDewrito team.
An earlier version of this story was titled “The creators of Eldewrito have reportedly developed a working PC port of Halo 3.”
The story below has been edited to note changes as per the communication from the Eldewrito source.
It’s been alleged that the creators of Eldewrito — a fan-made mod for Halo Online — have secretly developed a working PC port of Halo 3. Halo Online is a cancelled “Halo 3 derived PC game for the Russian market.” However, the Eldewrito team has strenuously denied the allegations and claimed not to have been involved at all.
According to Halo Waypoint;
Halo Online is powered by a highly modified version of the Halo 3 engine and optimized for smooth performance on lower-end PCs. While there’s no campaign mode, Halo Online is set on a secret UNSC space installation called Anvil, where Spartan-IV soldiers train together in war exercises to sharpen their battle skills and test experimental technology.
Halo 3 PC Port
According to sources, who’ve asked to remain anonymous, the group who developed Eldewrito are responsible for this secret Halo 3 PC port. Eldewrito allowed players to play Halo Online worldwide but was subsequently shut down by Microsoft.
With Eldewrito shut down, it’s alleged that this group of fans set about in creating a working PC port of Halo 3, and apparently succeeded. However, as mentioned, the team denies having any involvement. If this port does indeed exist and work, according to information sent to PowerUp!, it is the work of an entirely different group from those that developed Eldewrito.
With the recent announcement of Halo The Master Chief Collection coming to PC, this fan-made port may be in trouble from Microsoft’s legal team.
Especially since this free PC port means players may be less likely to purchase the Master Chief Collection.
In order to develop this Halo 3 PC port, our source is claiming that TagTools is being used and is also using Assembly Halo Mod tools.
Strangely, this Halo 3 PC port has been kept incredibly secret up until now, perhaps as the developers fear reprisal from Microsoft’s probable action. However, there have been attempts by the group to spread the word surreptitiously.
For example, instructions on how to download the port have been hidden in the source code of this website.
The videos below report to show this Halo 3 PC port running without the use of Xenia (an Xbox 360 emulator), but our source notes that the build in the video is older and quite buggy. Later versions of the port are apparently very stable and “near perfect.”
The source also claims that Halo 3 ODST is being developed by the same group and is almost complete.
Last week, Microsoft and 343 Industries announces Halo The Master Chief Collection is coming to PC.
Built specifically for the PC audience, players will be able to experience generation-defining campaigns and iconic multiplayer modes, many for the first time, on Microsoft Store and Steam. On PC, titles within Halo: The Master Chief Collection will be released individually over time to ensure that we are partnering with the community and investing the time into development to create a premier PC experience.
Given that Microsoft is releasing the titles in a piecemeal fashion, the fact that a working Halo 3 PC port exists is very likely to detract from the impact of that release.
A link was provided to PowerUp! to download the 5.6GB port, however, we have chosen not to include it in this report.
Halo The Master Chief Collection will be released for PC, though a firm date has not yet been announced. The games will be released in chronological order, beginning with Reach and then Halo: CE.
We’ve reached out to Microsoft for comment on this story.
