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Halo Wars Community Mod Tools
Create and manage mods for Halo Wars: Definitive Edition and Halo Wars 2. Edit scenarios and game data, work with models and animations, and prepare mod files with a free Windows toolkit. Halo Wars 2 support is still in development.

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Features
Includes level editor
Profile Features Limited 
Languages:
Interface Full Audio Subtitles
English ✔

Early Access Software

Get involved with this software as it develops.

Note: This Early Access software is not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to use this software in its current state, then you should wait to see if it progresses further in development. Learn more

What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access?

“The toolkit already supports useful modding workflows, but it is still in development. Early Access lets the community use the tools, report problems and help prioritize improvements. Halo Wars: Definitive Edition support is the most complete; Halo Wars 2 support is still being developed.”

Approximately how long will this software be in Early Access?

“We plan to launch Early Access in late 2026, or Q1 2027 at the latest. We have not set a date for the full version or a fixed duration for Early Access. Development will continue based on stability, supported workflows and community feedback.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“We plan to expand supported game formats, improve the existing editors, and make project setup, importing, exporting and building mods easier. Priorities will depend on technical progress and community feedback. We have not announced a release date for the full version.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The toolkit includes Project Manager for the shared project library; Cutter for scenario and terrain editing; Forge for mod data, resources and project builds; Serina for Halo Wars: Definitive Edition mod loading and runtime extensions; Anders, the open-source Blender addon for supported models, materials, textures and animations; and Isabel for Halo Wars 2 archives, XML, XMB and manifests.

Halo Wars: Definitive Edition support is the most complete. Halo Wars 2 support and some editing workflows remain incomplete or experimental. Keep backups of your projects.”

Will this software be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“Halo Wars Community Mod Tools is free and will remain free after Early Access.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“Feedback will be collected through Steam Discussions, in-tool bug reporting, the New Arcadia Discord, and other community channels. Bug reports, compatibility results, documentation requests, and workflow feedback will help us prioritize development across Cutter, Forge, Serina, Anders and Isabel.”
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Join the Halo Wars Community Mod Tools Playtest

Request access and you’ll get notified when the developer is ready for more participants.
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About This Software

Halo Wars Community Mod Tools is a free Windows toolkit from New Arcadia for creating and managing mods for Halo Wars: Definitive Edition and Halo Wars 2. Organize projects, edit scenarios and game data, work with models and animations, and prepare files for your mods.

Early Access and Playtest

We plan to launch Early Access in late 2026, or Q1 2027 at the latest. The full version has no announced release date.

You can request Playtest access on this page. Requests are collected now, and selected participants will be notified when access is granted.

Start with Project Manager

Create or open a project from the shared library, configure game and content paths, then launch Cutter or Forge for the work you want to do.

Edit Halo Wars scenarios in a 3D viewport with terrain and lighting controls, object properties, asset browsing, and model and animation previews.

Edit mod data in searchable workspaces for objects, squads, leaders, technologies, powers and abilities. Manage project resources, audio and particles, and build your mod output.

Serina provides the Halo Wars: Definitive Edition mod loader and runtime extensions, including supported loose audio, generated Wwise banks and mod diagnostics.

Anders is our open-source Blender addon. Import, edit and export supported UGX models, UAX animations, materials, textures, visual definitions and damage data for both Halo Wars games. Requires Blender 4.2 or newer.

Create and expand Halo Wars 2 PKG archives, convert XML to and from XMB, rebuild file manifests, and process package collections with batch tools.

Current support

Halo Wars: Definitive Edition support is the most complete. Halo Wars 2 support is still in development, and some formats and workflows remain incomplete or experimental. Keep backups of your projects.

Halo Wars: Definitive Edition and Halo Wars 2 © Microsoft Corporation. Halo Wars Community Mod Tools is an independent fan-created toolkit distributed under Microsoft's Game Content Usage Rules. It is not endorsed by or affiliated with Microsoft.

A legally obtained copy of Halo Wars: Definitive Edition and/or Halo Wars 2 is required. The games and their assets are not included with the toolkit.

System Requirements

    Minimum:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS: Windows 10 64-bit
    • Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 / AMD Ryzen 5 2600
    • Memory: 8 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB / AMD Radeon RX 580 8 GB
    • DirectX: Version 11
    • Storage: 100 MB available space
    Recommended:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS: Windows 11 64-bit
    • Processor: Intel Core i5-12400 / AMD Ryzen 5 5600
    • Memory: 16 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB / AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT 8 GB
    • DirectX: Version 11
    • Storage: 100 MB available space