Now that Halo: Combat Evolved has received some improvements, 343 Industries is ready to let it back into the wild. The playlist for this title has been added back to The Master Chief Collection multiplayer.

Halo: CE was one of the playlists removed shortly after the collection’s launch. 343 Industries has been working since the game’s November 11 release to repair matchmaking issues and problems with single-player experiences.

The work isn’t complete, though. As recently as December 15, the developer acknowledged problems with control schemes in Halo 2 Anniversary and Halo 4. We’ll continue to track the title’s progress.

It’s the season for giving, but also a time for paying absurdly low prices for games that will sit in your backlog. We’ve covered PlayStation and Xbox sales. Now, PC gamers take a turn.

The Steam holiday sale is on now and will continue through January 2 at 10 a.m. Pacific / 1 p.m. Eastern. There are daily bundles, eight-hour flash sales, and community-voted discounts (starting tomorrow).

You can also earn badges via community votes and purchases. Be sure to check back daily for new offerings. 

Snow isn’t a regular sight in Los Santos, but Rockstar has worked some magic to make it happen. The Grand Theft Auto Online Festive Surprise event kicks off today.

If you want to unwrap something explosive, head over to Ammu-Nation for a homing launcher and proximity mines. And if you happen to miss out on the seasonal festivities, don’t worry. These are available permanently.

Rockstar is also introducing new vehicles to the online world. The Hot Rod Christmas Ratloader, Slam Van, Massacro, and Jester can be purchased now and driven even after the snow melts.

More than 150 speedrunners will gather early next year in Herndon, Virgina for the 2015 Awesome Games Done Quick charity event. The event will be viewable live and via stream starting on January 4, 2015.

The broadcast will last for 160 hours, ending on January 10. During that time, over 150 games will be featured, including the returning Awful Games Done Quick block. This year, the “so bad they’re good” titles include William Shatner’s Tek War and the Burger King tie-in game, Sneak King.

This year’s event will close with a 100 percent speedrun of Nintendo classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. For the entire schedule, check out the Games Done Quick website.

Have a happy and safe holiday season full of cheer (and good games). The year is nearly over and there's only one more episode of Blog Herding left in 2014. Enjoy this week's collection of blog's submitted by the community.

Blog Herding Stats:

Period Reviewed:  December 08 – December 14, 2014Number of User Blogs: 46Number of User Bloggers: 29
Number of User Blogs Herded: 6

The Xbox versions of Minecraft are getting a significant upgrade today, thanks to a new update. Version 1.6.4 of the game adds a variety of long-awaited features to the game, including horses, stained clay, and fireworks.

The video below breaks down the highlights, while also telling a bit of a tragic story involving Steve and a pork chop-eating jerk.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Telltale’s 2014 is concluding with an announcement about the studio’s next big collaboration. This time out, things are likely to be less bloody and a bit craftier.

Mojang and Telltale are teaming up for Minecraft: Story Mode, an episodic game coming in 2015. It won’t be an add-on for Minecraft, and it will be a narrative experience similar to other Telltale projects.

For those hoping (or fearing) for a deep explanation of the Minecraft world or a character exploration of Steve, that’s not the direction the duo are taking. We’ll learn more in 2015 as the game’s first episode is released for PlayStation systems, Xbox consoles, iOS, Android, and PC.

Ubisoft has published a new website for owners of the Assassin’s Creed Unity season pass to redeem the promised free game. If you’ve redeemed your season pass prior to November 25, you should be able to collect your make-right title now.

All you need to do is head over to the redemption site, choose which platform you’ve been playing Assassin’s Creed Unity on, and then choose your game. You might want to start attempting now, as we anticipate the site will be seeing a lot of traffic soon.

Ubisoft is offering this free game after numerous problems with Assassin’s Creed Unity. Along with an apology, the publisher is giving every game owner the Dead Kings DLC for free. This devalued the season pass, so as compensation, Ubisoft chose to give those that bought into the content bundle a free game.

Update version 1.2 is now available for This War of Mine, and it adds a new starting sheleter, the ability to choose a starting character, and other additions.

The update also includes enhancements to the locations, improved animations, better NPC behaviors, improved stability, and bug fixes. You can see a video of the updates below with producer Marcin Jefimow.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Artist Ástor Alexander, who brought us fantastic interpretations of Link, Midna, Mario, Peach, and BioShock Infinite's Elizabeth on pulp noir novel covers, has returned with a new piece of Samus.

Alexander's Samus piece is more of a romantic sci-fi novel, but it definitely belongs on a shelf next to his previous work.

You can can check out more of Alexander's work on his Tumblr, Behance, and DeviantArt pages, which has a lot more than just video game focused art.