Can You Buy Halo Reach Without MCC? - Purchasing Only Halo Reach

Halo Reach is coming out on PC today, and a lot of folks are confused about the purchasing options. The listings are poorly worded, which makes a bunch of people wonder whether you can buy Halo Reach without the Master Chief Collection. This guide is about purchasing only Halo Reach, and it will explain whether you can buy Halo Reach without MCC.

Can you buy only Halo Reach?

Yes. Halo Reach is a standalone game, and if that’s the one you want to play, then you can buy only Halo Reach. It’ll cost you $10. If you’re buying on Steam, don’t be dissuaded by the fact it’s listed as a DLC, or that it says it requires MCC to run.

The confusion stems from the fact that there are two separate things called The Master Chief Collection. One is a package including all the Halo games until and including number four – that’s the one that costs $40. If you buy it, you’ll only get Reach now, because the others will be released at a later date.

The other Master Chief Collection is the launcher through which all Halo games are executed. It’s free, and included with the purchase of any Halo game. If you buy Halo Reach on its own, you’ll get the MCC along with it, but you’ll only be able to play the things that are available in Reach – this means both the singleplayer campaign and the multiplayer portion.

To reiterate, you can buy Halo Reach without MCC. Although the naming is unfortunate and the wording is awkward, simply navigate to the store page and buy Reach. Once you download it, you’ll be able to run it through the MCC launcher, which comes as a part of it, free of charge.