It took quite a while for the issues to be figured out but Halo: The Master Chief Collection (MCC) now has improved Steam Deck support. This should also mean it works better on desktop Linux too.
While the game did somewhat work for a while, you weren't able to play fully online with others due to problems with Easy Anti-Cheat. Whatever the issues were have been partially solved now so players on Steam Deck can jump into EAC enabled games in multiplayer matchmaking and the Custom Game Browser. In a support post on the official site, the developers said that future updates will "continue to improve Steam Deck compatibility as well".
Testing it myself and yup — playing online works just fine:
There's some known issues though, like the launch options being backwards, that you need to keep in mind for now until future updates:
- When launching Halo: The Master Chief Collection on Steam Deck, selecting one of the available Anti-Cheat launch options will result in the game launching with the opposite launch option. For example, selecting “Anti-Cheat Disabled” will result in MCC launching with Anti-Cheat enabled.
- Until this issue is resolved in a future update, players on Steam Deck must select the “Anti-Cheat Disabled” launch option to access multiplayer matchmaking and the Custom Game Browser.
- Shortly after being removed from or leaving a party with other players via the Roster menu, players on Steam Deck may experience Halo: The Master Chief Collection freezing or crashing.
- Players on Steam Deck are unable to play Campaign Co-op or Spartan Ops with players on PC or Xbox consoles. Attempting to do so may result in players accessing gameplay, however, all sessions will eventually experience a “Connection Interrupted” error or a similar disconnection.
- Campaign Co-op and Spartan Ops will function as expected if all players in the group are playing on Steam Deck.
By "PC", they of course mean specifically Windows in the above quoted list.
For people trying it on Steam Deck for the first time, just be aware it won't automatically bring up the on-screen keyboard to sign in. You need to press STEAM + X to have it appear, and it may take a few taps in the input box to have it actually get focus from the keyboard. Hopefully they work on that too.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
The comments on this article are closed.
All posts need to follow our rules. For users logged in: please hit the Report Flag icon on any post that breaks the rules or contains illegal / harmful content. Guest readers can email us for any issues.
This is great news! Hopefully it will also work on regular desktop Linux. 
3 Likes, Who?
ElectricPrism Apr 5, 2023
I literally have 4 Steam Decks and 4 copies of Halo MCC. I've beaten a few campaigns (mods disabled the last few months). I'm very excited I will finally be able to play.
Just yesterday I got my first "Easy Anti-Cheat Incident" warning when I attempted to load the game because it didn't ask if I wanted to load with Mods/EAC disabled or not.
There's been some really interesting analysis videos too of Halo 3 Alpha / Beta codename "Pimps of the Sea" that have been really interesting to checkout. ( https://youtube.com/watch?v=kV0Z6RKevbw )
I'm glad that MCC is on Deck (hopefully proper).
Last edited by ElectricPrism on 5 April 2023 at 8:42 pm UTC
Just yesterday I got my first "Easy Anti-Cheat Incident" warning when I attempted to load the game because it didn't ask if I wanted to load with Mods/EAC disabled or not.
There's been some really interesting analysis videos too of Halo 3 Alpha / Beta codename "Pimps of the Sea" that have been really interesting to checkout. ( https://youtube.com/watch?v=kV0Z6RKevbw )
I'm glad that MCC is on Deck (hopefully proper).
Last edited by ElectricPrism on 5 April 2023 at 8:42 pm UTC
2 Likes, Who?
StoneColdSpider Apr 5, 2023
I totally misread that as "Master Chef"......... It would make the show a whole lot more interesting if you could snipe the competition from the other side of the room......
9 Likes, Who?
Chronarius Apr 5, 2023
Would be great if Microsoft would improve their support too. I refunded Halo because Microsoft locked up my Microsoft Accounts without any reason. I still don't know why they have been locked. There is no response, no support, no nothing from Microsoft! So the devs can improve what they want. I give a damn about it! Oh and keep playing the original Halo on my Steam Deck 
0 Likes
I literally have 4 Steam DecksI literally have 2 goggling eyes.
10 Likes, Who?
About darn time :) been waiting for long while ever since they added the .so files for them to turn this on :) now we can play the entirety of Halo except Halo 5 love it or hate it on Linux now :) who would have thunk a few years ago we would be here lol
3 Likes, Who?
2fastHunter Apr 6, 2023
The only news I wish to read about this collection is, that MS drops the necessity of MS accounts to play this.
1 Likes, Who?
TheRiddick Apr 6, 2023
Just be aware that COOP/MP gets a bit wonky with certain Halo's.
0 Likes
I'm just playing these in coop with a friend and they are a blast, and the graphics difference is huge, it's also fun to press a key and see the old version at any moment.
0 Likes
spacemonkey Apr 6, 2023
So, do I understand it correctly that co-op with Linux + Windows still isn't working? (Even when EAC is disabled on all PCs)
Last edited by spacemonkey on 6 April 2023 at 7:12 pm UTC
Last edited by spacemonkey on 6 April 2023 at 7:12 pm UTC
0 Likes
I was disapointed by Halo TMCC netcode because I couldn't cross play with my friends (me on Linux, them on Windows).
It was working few seconds (10s) then crash because of a "network problem".
Sad.
It was working few seconds (10s) then crash because of a "network problem".
Sad.
1 Likes, Who?
I have been waiting for this for so long, so happy now. Halo 3 multiplayer was and still kinda is big part of me, nice to see I can go back to finish the fight.
Just played one match and it ran well!
Just played one match and it ran well!
1 Likes, Who?
Viesta2015 Apr 6, 2023
I have been waiting for this for so long, so happy now. Halo 3 multiplayer was and still kinda is big part of me, nice to see I can go back to finish the fight.i was able to play Halo MCC at a stable 60fps in performance on a 1440p monitor via the steam deck... it still amazes me what the steam deck can truly be capable of.
Just played one match and it ran well!
1 Likes, Who?
mr-victory Apr 6, 2023
on a 1440p monitorWas the game resolution really 1440p? Steam Deck defaults to 720p even on external monitors AFAIK.
0 Likes
Steam Deck defaults to 720p even on external monitors AFAIK.The last time I checked – sometime at the end of last year – it was impossible to use a higher resolution in game mode (the only option for a different resolution was/is scaling). In desktop there is full control of resolution.
0 Likes
I have been waiting for this for so long, so happy now. Halo 3 multiplayer was and still kinda is big part of me, nice to see I can go back to finish the fight.i was able to play Halo MCC at a stable 60fps in performance on a 1440p monitor via the steam deck... it still amazes me what the steam deck can truly be capable of.
Just played one match and it ran well!
Nice! I do not have Steam Deck, just playing on my desktop :)
0 Likes
I think it would be humorous and quite in line with 343's development if they added split-screen co-op to steam deck. Specifically, and no where else.
Last edited by shibuya on 9 April 2023 at 3:59 am UTC
Last edited by shibuya on 9 April 2023 at 3:59 am UTC
2 Likes, Who?
Viesta2015 Apr 7, 2023
I was in desktop mode while playing it and had my external monitor set as the main monitor. i couldn't see what resolution it was set to so the best i can give you is it most certainly didn't look like 720p to me.Steam Deck defaults to 720p even on external monitors AFAIK.The last time I checked – sometime at the end of last year – it was impossible to use a higher resolution in game mode (the only option for a different resolution was/is scaling). In desktop there is full control of resolution.
0 Likes
ElectricPrism Apr 7, 2023
I literally have 4 Steam DecksI literally have 2 goggling eyes.
I started slinging them as gifts to further normalize the Linux cause and I can safely say they are well received -- the gamers have put down their Nintendo Switches and Windows gaming and been using them.
I bought the first one on the release date as a sort of "Victory" of the "Linux Gaming Desktop" and 10 years of being an invisible cheerleader.
I can't help much with the goggling eyes except make them goggle a little more by saying that I wasn't sure if at first I would get sucked into it as a device -- but after playing some Katamari, OOT and several Halo campaigns -- there is definite utility in a dedicated gaming device you can play in your bed, couch, on the go or with your family / friends.
I am pleasantly surprised.
Also the device doubles as a low-power computer, so if the energy sector were to theoretically get more shaky it could serve an additional function -- I am surprised for its size how many multitudes better it performs than say Librem 5 or PinePhone or other similar screen sized devices.
Granted you do have to be okay with 800p but at the screen size it's really not as much of an issue as you would think.
The NVME m.2 2230 upgrade is pretty easy too, I swapped all 4 to rotate the NVMEs to get > 64GB /deck
Stay strong bruddah, someday (I just meant my post as a squeaky wheel for game-devs and the bigger world to realize that we Linux peeps are a legit thing and some of us do odd things like sling decks -- after 23 years of Halo and organizing Halo LAN parties I am going to be really tempted to do Deck Halo parties on MCC.)
Edit: On that last note @gamedevs -- I am starting to look to buy multiplayer games where say 4-8 Deck gamers can play a thing together that is really fun in-person. It's sort-of hard to navigate the Steam Store to find this kind of thing.
Last edited by ElectricPrism on 7 April 2023 at 6:28 am UTC
4 Likes, Who?
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me