I can’t believe this long-lost Halo level has finally been found — and you might be able to play it soon

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18 years following the release of Halo 3, the third highly acclaimed installment in the iconic Xbox series from 2007, an early build of one of its renowned story campaign’s cut levels has been discovered. It looks like this level may become playable soon.

The mission under discussion is known as Forerunner City, or colloquially as the Lost City. Originally designed separately, it was combined with another abandoned mission, Alpine, to form the exciting stage called The Covenant that made it into the final game version. A script draft from Bungie’s Halo 3 design lead Rob Stokes and comments from environment artist Vic DeLeon imply that this mission would have provided insights into Forerunner culture and everyday life while players fought against both Covenant and Flood forces in its streets, receiving aid from both human and Elite allies.

It’s plausible to think that the level was uncovered from an old Halo 3 construction; however, surprisingly, it was instead found in a preliminary version of Halo Studios’ (previously known as 343 Industries) 2012 sequel, Halo 4. The well-known Halo modder RejectedShotgun shared this information on Saturday afternoon, giving credit to Zoephie (@Just_Zoephie) of the fan-led preservation group The Reclamation Initiative for the significant discovery.

It’s surprising to find that a mission from Halo 3, known as ‘Lost City’ or ‘Forerunner City,’ has been uncovered in an early version of Halo 4. This revelation was made by @Just_Zoephie, who is part of the Reclaimation Initiative, the same group that successfully ran Halo MegaBloks. As RejectedShotgun stated, they’ve shared screenshots and gameplay footage of this discovery, which you can view in the embedded clip above.

He went on to say, “I’ve corrected every single mistake on the map, re-textured everything, and made all necessary adjustments.” Further improvements include incorporating AI navigation and lighting effects. In time, he aims to completely overhaul the level, making it a polished and playable mod from beginning to end.

Initially, I found it peculiar that Forerunner City was introduced in Halo 4, but upon reflection, it became clear that this discovery fit logically within the game’s narrative. The setting of the game on the Forerunner world Requiem, a Shield World designed to withstand the annihilating destruction of the Halo rings, is equipped with an intricate network of Forerunner structures and facilities. It seems plausible that the development team drew heavily from the sprawling urban design of Forerunner City when creating similar structures in Halo 4’s campaign, given their numerous appearances throughout the game.

It has been confirmed by RejectedShotgun that he intends to transform the current setup into a fully playable mission using an upcoming mod, possibly following the previously mentioned rough draft script as a blueprint. Notably, the improved and bug-fixed version of the map is already accessible on his GitHub page for those who wish to explore it immediately or use it as a starting point for their own project.

In essence, this find is truly thrilling, and I eagerly anticipate experiencing RejectedShotgun’s modified level within The Master Chief Collection (MCC) when it becomes accessible. Regrettably, console users on Xbox won’t have the opportunity to explore it due to modding not being supported in MCC on consoles. However, those who own it on Steam for Windows PC can look forward to giving it a try. It’s possible that the mod might function on the Xbox Game Pass-compatible version accessible through the Xbox PC app as well, although this hasn’t been officially confirmed yet.

Currently, the Master Chief Collection on Steam is offering an enormous 75% discount. This deal makes it a must-play whether you’re an experienced Halo player or new to the series. At just $10 (normally $40), you gain access to Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2, Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, and Halo 4. All these games have been optimized to run smoothly on current systems and at modern resolutions.

This offer is truly extraordinary: You can get six complete Halo games, along with two remasters, which includes all their campaign, multiplayer, and Forge level-editing content – all for a price lower than an average meal! So, if you haven’t grabbed the Master Chief Collection yet, now’s your chance to own some of the best Xbox games ever produced.

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2025-05-07 01:04