Tests for Halo 2 and Halo 2: Anniversary will begin soon, revealed a 343 Industries staff.

Writing on Twitter, Community Support & Engagement Coordinator Tyler Davis said that “flighting”, the confusing term for 343’s “early access play sessions”, will begin “on Friday, 4/17”. He added in another tweet that they’re  “targeting the afternoon”, so it looks like it’d start in the wee hours of Saturday over here. 

PSA: All Ring 3 blockers have been resolved at this time for Halo 2 and Halo 2: Anniversary flighting to begin on Friday, 4/17. We will let folks know when buttons are being pressed for invites to roll out. Stay tuned to get tactical Marines!

— Tyler Davis (@343Postums) April 16, 2020

Targeting the afternoon to hit buttons.

— Tyler Davis (@343Postums) April 16, 2020

Ring 3 refers to “the Halo Insider user group that is determined based on KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) the team sets for wanting to test in any given flight”, while blockers are bugs “deemed severe enough to prevent a flight from functioning as needed”.

For Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, 343 made plans for Ring 1 and 2 flighting back in January, with the fourth flight kicking off in mid-February. The game itself surprise-launched on PC in early March.

While that fourth flight doesn’t refer to a Ring 4 flight (there’s no Ring 4), I’m guessing that Halo 2: Anniversary will have at least another test next month before launching in early June, since it’d also match the three-month-difference between Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary and Halo Reach, but I certainly wouldn’t mind if it came out next month.

At any rate, we’re definitely getting closer to Halo 2: Anniversary‘s launch on PC. If you’re interested in joining future flights, check out the Halo Insider Program.