Achievement

The "Vidmaster" set of achievements found in Halo 3.

An achievement is a reward given to players when they accomplish certain gaming feats decided by the developer in videogames published for Games for Windows Live, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X consoles, and on Valve's Steam platform. Since the launch of the Xbox 360, it has been a mandatory requirement by Microsoft that all videogames published on the console (including 360 versions of multiplatform games) feature achievements.

Most Microsoft achievements also award the player Gamerscore that count towards a gamer's total Gamerscore. These points, while not redeemable, are intended to serve as a tangible form of special rewards for unusual or skilled actions within game play. Most games contain 30-50 achievements and a total of 1000 Gamerscore, though these numbers can be increased through the release of DLC packs.

On the Xbox 360, Windows and Steam platforms, achievements take the appearance of icons or badges, not unlike the medals which can be found in the Halo games. In contrast to the original small, square achievement icons, Xbox One achievements are represented by large 16x9 images. Rather than icons, these images are often screenshots, concept art, or other related imagery. These images may or may not include additional text, such as the name of the title or a developer logo.

Halo 2 Vista

Main article: Achievements (Halo 2)

The PC version of Halo 2 was the first Halo game to contain achievements. Since Halo 2 was released on the original Xbox, the achievement system had not yet been invented. However, achievements were added to the release of Halo 2 as a game for Windows. There are 41 achievements.

Halo 3

Main article: Achievements (Halo 3)

In Halo 3, there are currently 79 achievements to unlock, worth a total of 1,750 Gamerscore. Halo 3 was originally released with 49 achievements, worth the standard 1,000 Gamerscore, but an additional 30 were added dealing with new downloadable content, four of which were part of the Road to Recon challenge. The completion of these achievements, called the Vidmasters, plus the last three in Halo 3: ODST would unlock the Recon armor for player models in multiplayer. Various achievements unlock armor permutations.