Rumor: Halo 5 is coming to the PC (Update: no, it's not)

Update: We reached out to a Microsoft spokesperson, who denied that Halo 5 will ever come to PC. "Our approach is to deliver epic Halo experiences designed for PC gamers and Windows 10, such as Halo Wars 2 and the recently announced Halo 5: Forge. There are no plans to port Halo 5: Guardians to PC.” 

Original story:

With E3 2016 less than a week away, the internet rumor machine is firing on all cylinders. The latest little tidbit that may or may not be true comes to us courtesy of NeoGAF user Enter the Dragon Punch, who says he has it “on good authority from multiple sources that Halo 5 will be coming to PC.” 

The report is entirely unsubstantiated, but Dark Side of Gaming says the rumormeister in this case “can be considered a trusty source,” based on the accuracy of his past leaks. He's also one of the sources behind the rumor we reported yesterday that Bethesda will announce a remastered version of Skyrim at E3. 

Interestingly, while he sounds quite confident in his prediction of Halo 5, he said in a follow-up post that as far as he knows, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, the compilation of updated versions of Halo 1-4—the first two of which have already been released for the PC—is not coming to our platform, even though we think it should.

We'll find out soon enough if he's right, but in the meantime, keep this in mind: In October 2015, 343 Industries said that there's “plenty of chance” that Halo 5 could come to the PC; in March of this year, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said it probably wouldn't. But it might! But probably not. (Just to muddy the waters a little more, don't forget that that Forge—Halo 5: Guardians Edition, which bears the Halo 5 name but is really just a map-making tool, has been confirmed for a PC release later this year.) 

E3 this year runs June 14-16, with press events from most major publishers coming in the days leading up to it. We'll keep you posted.
 

The PC Gaming Show returns to E3 on Monday June 13, featuring game announcements, updates to existing favourites, and conversation with top developers. You can find out what to expect here, and also book free tickets to attend in person at pcgamingshow.com. The PC Gaming Show will be broadcast live through twitch.tv/pcgamer from 11:30 am PT/2:30 pm ET/6:30 pm GMT, but be sure to tune in beforehand to check out The Steam Speedrun, in which one lucky winner will buy as many games as they can in three minutes.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.