Halo Wars 2 will get a fancy boxed release from THQ Nordic

THQ Nordic has some good news for game collectors: It's put together a deal with 343 Industries and Microsoft to release boxed editions of the upcoming RTS Halo Wars 2

The physical release of Halo Wars 2 will come in two flavors, standard and Ultimate. Both will offer access to the game on the Xbox One console through the Play Anywhere feature, while the Ultimate edition will also include four days of advance access to the game, the Halo Wars 2 season pass, and Halo Wars: Definitive Edition, an "enhanced" release of the original Halo Wars that also supports Play Anywhere. 

“After working on so many titles together with Microsoft in 2016, we are stoked to start the year with another partnership," THQ Nordic founder and CEO Lars Wingefors said. "Being able to deliver such a big franchise to RTS and Halo fans alike, the opportunity to buy and own this game in a beautiful physical shape is something we appreciate a lot.” 

The Halo Wars 2 Ultimate Edition will be released on February 17 and will go for $80/€80, while the standard release will sell for $60/€60 and be out on February 21—the same pricing and release dates as the digital versions. In between those dates, it will also be playable at the PC Gamer Weekender, which runs February 18-19 in London. 

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.