Halo 2 is the second installment of the Halo game series and sequel to Halo 1. It was created by Bungie and initially released on the original Xbox in 2004 by publisher/owner Microsoft. In 2007, the game was released for Windows PC and Mac via different studios.

Halo 2 uses Bungie's proprietary Blam! engine, which also formed the basis of later games in the series.

Xbox (Bungie, 2004)

Sometimes called h2x, this is the classic first release of Halo 2 for the original Xbox. Multiplayer had support for LAN multiplayer along with online play through Xbox Live.

Halo 2 Vista (Hired Gun, 2007)

This edition is the classic port of Halo 2 to Windows PC by developer Hired Gun and publisher Microsoft Game Studios. While there still are some port discrepancies when compared to the original source, it is no where near as bad as the Halo 1 PC port. Official servers for the game went down in July 2015. Any users looking to play Halo 2 Vista online will require community solutions.

The game received a total of three patches for the base game, the dedicated server binary, and the editing kit. The latest version is 1.00.00.11122

Modding

There are several tools and mods for the base game or external programs that users can grab to enhance their experience. Examples include:

• Halo 2 Vista Editing Kit - The official editing suite released for Halo 2 Vista. Largely worked on by Pi Studios. This editing kit only officially supports creating a few tag types.
• Assembly - A cache editing tool for various titles in the Halo series. Users can use this tool to make permanent edits to cache files and poke changes in real time. While not traditional workflow for map creation, it is a powerful tool that can be used to create interesting experiences.
• Halo Asset Blender Development Toolset - A collection of tools for Blender that can be used to export the intermediate files used by the Halo 2 Editing Kit.
• Project Cartographer - A popular mod for the Halo 2 Vista title which restores online play and adds additional features.

Like Halo 1, Halo 2's tags play a large role in modding.

MCC (PC and Xbox One, 343 Industries, 2014-2021)

Halo: The Master Chief collection (MCC) is actively maintained by 343 Industries for both PC and Xbox One. It brings the Halo series under a single Game as a Service, including unified matchmaking and progression experiences. The PC port uses Unreal Engine as a menu and input layer over the respective engines of each included Halo game.

In 2014, Halo 2 Anniversary was released for Xbox One as part of the Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Often called H2A by the community. It was developed by 343 Industries and Saber Interactive as a remaster of the original Halo 2, and is derived from the Halo 2 Vista port. This edition contains the secondary Saber3D engine for its remastered graphics mode.

Modding

There are several tools and mods for the base game or external programs that users can grab to enhance their experience. Examples include:

• Halo 2 Editing Kit - The official editing suite released for Halo 2 Anniversary/MCC.
• Assembly - A cache editing tool for various titles in the Halo series. Users can use this tool to make permanent edits to cache files and poke changes in real time. While not traditional workflow for map creation, it is a powerful tool that can be used to create interesting experiences.
• Halo Asset Blender Development Toolset - A collection of tools for Blender that can be used to export the intermediate files used by the Halo 2 Editing Kit.

Like Halo 1, Halo 2's tags play a large role in modding.

Hardcoded tag patches

There are a number of gameplay-balancing tag patches made at runtime for multiplayer scenarios. These patches only happen if the game executable uses cache files to load assets. Programs like Sapien and Standalone will not display any of the mentioned changes.