Back in 2003, before Halo 2 launched, Bungie showcased a gameplay demo that featured Master Chief on Earth fighting aliens. This level, known online as Earth City, didn’t ship with the retail game in 2004,

Halo 2's iconic E3 2003 demo, much of which did not appear in the final game when it launched a year later, will finally be playable next week via a Steam Workshop mod for Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC, just in time for Halo 2's 20th anniversary.

Over 20 years after it was shown, Halo 2's E3 2003 demo will finally be playable. The demo for Halo 2 shown during E3 2003 was one of the biggest and most iconic pieces of marketing for Bungie's beloved Xbox shooter, but since its engine was scrapped, it never got a public release.

As part of the 20-year anniversary plans for Halo 2, the legendary E3 2003 demo will soon be playable as a mod in The Master Chief Collection.

Sometimes it takes twenty years to settle a bet. The Halo 2 demo shown off at E3 2003 is finally playable by the public. As part of a broader celebration of Halo 2 ’s 20th anniversary, the demo will be available as a Steam Workshop mod for Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Xbox announced today in a blog post.

Microsoft, Xbox and Halo Studios are celebrating Halo 2's 20th anniversary by releasing recreations of some of the game's most memorable maps on Halo Infinite, as well as its E3 demo that's probably one of the most important moments of the franchise's history.