"Halo" is one of the best-selling Xbox game series in history. While most fans are waiting for the highly-anticipated "Halo 5", a new version of the game arrived without them knowing: "Halo Online", a free-to-play version of the first-person shooter that's available on PC. There's only one catch: It's only playable in Russia.
Halo Waypoint posted information about this new F2P shooter on Wednesday. The project was created by a team of developers from Saber Interactive and Innova Systems. "Halo Online" is powered by a modified version of the "Halo 3" engine, and is designed to run lower-end PCs. The game takes place on a secret UNSC space installation called Anvil, and will feature Spartan-IV soldiers training together, in military exercises and with experimental technology, in order to improve their skills.
The "Halo Online" Closed Beta will be released in Russia some time this spring so that players can experiment with the mechanics, weapons and whatever the free-to-play store's options are. The multiplayer-only shooter will only be available on the PC, and Waypoint says that it has no plans to bring the game to the XBox One in the near future. The site also didn't present any information about when the new game would be available in other regions, such as North America or Europe. According to Waypoint, "any (theoretical) expansion outside of Russia would have to go through region-specific changes to address player expectations."
This isn't the first game to release a region-specific version of a popular game in a particular area. "Call of Duty Online" is only available in China, and the developers have shown no signs that they plan to expand that game's market to other countries.
