Congratulations are in order for 343 Industries and Creative Assembly, as today marks the advent of Halo Wars 2 going gold, meaning the RTS is finally ready to go to print ready for release day. 343’s Dan Ayoub broke the good news over on Twitter, offering his own praise to all of the parties involved in the creation of the sequel.
Picking up directly from where its predecessor left off, Halo Wars 2 sees the Spirit of Fire and its crew head to the Ark following the events of Halo 3, only to find themselves pursued by Atriox, Brute warlord and commander of the Banished. As a friendly reminder, the final beta test for Halo Wars 2, which aims to showcase the new Blitz mode, is due to kick off this Friday, January 20, on both Xbox One and PC – the first time the latter has been afforded the chance to play the strategy title ahead of launch.
I had the chance to play the original beta test back in June last year, and while I felt the core gameplay showed promise, server and balance issues somewhat sullied the experience. Since then, however, 343 has made numerous improvements, including changes to how effective and costly different unit tiers are in battle. With any luck, rushing down your opponent with mass produced Warthogs will no longer be a feasible path to victory in the final build.
Halo Wars 2 hits Xbox One and Windows 10 on February 21, with a retail copy being made available for the latter thanks to a partnership between Microsoft and THQ Nordic. As an added bonus, those that pick up the Ultimate Edition will get four days early access on February 17. See you on the battlefield, Commanders!