Halo: Campaign Evolved Is A Gorgeous Remake That Debuts On Ps5 And Xbox In 2026

Halo Studios has created thing typical for nan 25th day of Halo next year. Halo: Campaign Evolved is simply a afloat remake of nan original Combat Evolved that launched alongside Microsoft’s first Xbox console successful 2001. It has a afloat rebuilt run pinch 4K visuals, caller weapons and vehicles, a four-player online co-op mode, and brand-new communicative content.

And it’s each coming to nan Xbox Series X / S, PC, and — for nan first clip — PlayStation 5 successful 2026.

I’ve been playing a prerelease demo conception of The Silent Cartographer ngo this week to get a consciousness for each nan changes. It’s nan aforesaid level that was utilized arsenic nan demo type of Halo: Combat Evolved for some Mac and PC, but this remade type opens instantly pinch updated cinematics, improved sound lines, and greatly overhauled visuals and animations.

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It looks and feels distinctively Halo, but past I started sprinting toward a rebuilt Warthog that has an other spot astatine nan rear and I realized there’s a batch going connected successful Campaign Evolved beyond its Unreal Engine 5-powered visuals.

“We did this activity connected Halo Anniversary. There were definite things that we weren’t capable to execute astatine that time, location were definite things we weren’t capable to do,” says Greg Hermann, method head astatine Halo Studios. “As we were building this out, we didn’t conscionable put a overgarment of overgarment complete nan original cinematics. We ended up revisiting precisely really they were blocked out, really they were sequenced, and really they were put together. We’ve done that crossed nan board.”

Halo Studios moreover brought successful nan halfway sound actors of Combat Evolved to re-record their lines. It was thing I noticed instantly arsenic The Silent Cartographer ngo loaded in. “This really provides a grade of fidelity that we weren’t capable to do for Halo Anniversary,” says Hermann.

The iconic vistas successful Halo have besides been rebuilt, arsenic good arsenic nan alien architecture and environments. It’s really designed to beryllium nan eventual remake of nan original run that’s some welcoming to caller players and besides built successful a measurement that respects Bungie’s original creation and story.

“Whenever we make a change, nan number 1 point is to beryllium existent to nan original game,” says Dan Gniady, lead crippled designer astatine Halo Studios. Gniady joined Halo Studios past twelvemonth and antecedently worked connected nan original releases of Bungie’s Destiny and Destiny 2 titles.

Halo Studios has entree to nan original root assets and codification for Halo, arsenic good arsenic nan original storyboards. That’s allowed nan squad to remaster and remix nan euphony alongside nan cinematic alteration and immense ocular upgrades. All of nan caller contented successful nan crippled is created successful UE5, and it’s layered connected apical of nan systems and codification utilized for nan original crippled to support that unsocial Halo feel.

Campaign Evolved includes 3 caller prize missions. “It was really important that we preserved nan original communicative arsenic it is, truthful these missions are meant to beryllium a prequel setup for nan main chorus,” says Max Szlagor, workplace creation head astatine Halo Studios. “These caller missions are going to connection immoderate caller opportunities for characteristic interactions betwixt Chief and Johnson.” The missions will see caller environments, gameplay, characters, and enemies.

There are besides caller mechanics and AI behaviors. Perhaps nan astir evident is nan expertise to sprint successful nan game, which makes everything from combat to moving astir missions consciousness a batch faster. There’s moreover a caller spot successful nan Warthog, affectionately referred to arsenic nan play cart spot aliases bumper spot by Halo Studios’ developers. It will beryllium perfect for co-op missions, arsenic personification tin now bent disconnected nan rear of nan Warthog.

Up to 4 group tin play this run together online, sloppy of what level they’re on, acknowledgment to crossplay and shared progression crossed console and PC. There’s besides two-player split-screen co-op section play connected consoles, conscionable for illustration nan original game. “We will make immoderate of nan spaces larger, and we besides want to make judge we’re authentic to nan encounters themselves,” says Szlagor. “So it’s a balancing enactment betwixt that trouble tuning and making those encounters nan correct size for nan correct space.”

All of nan weapons person been remodeled and rebuilt pinch higher fidelity, truthful nan look, feel, and sound of weapons is acold amended than what Halo Studios achieved pinch nan remastered versions; nan plasma effects from guns will moreover afloat ray up nan indoor environments. You tin besides purpose down sights pinch each guns now, and location are 9 further weapons from crossed nan Halo series disposable successful Campaign Evolved — including nan expertise to prime up an Energy Sword aft you’ve killed an Elite. If you’re a instrumentality of nan vehicles successful Halo, you’ll moreover beryllium capable to hijack force ones, truthful you tin aviator a afloat drivable Wraith successful this campaign.

If you want to amp up nan difficultly, Halo Studios is leaning moreover much connected skulls successful this remake, nan gameplay modifiers from Halo: The Master Chief Collection. There are dozens of skull options successful Campaign Evolved, “the astir we’ve ever had successful a Halo game,” says Szlagor. There are truthful galore that nan developers don’t deliberation it will moreover beryllium imaginable to complete nan crippled connected legendary mode pinch each skulls turned on. “There’s a lot, truthful if you tin do a existent legendary all-skulls-on run, fto america cognize because I’d emotion to spot it,” says Gniady. I’m judge a hardcore Halo fan will find a measurement adjacent year, though.

The 1 point that’s missing from Campaign Evolved is multiplayer. The original crippled had section multiplayer and maps, but it launched earlier Xbox Live, truthful location was ne'er immoderate charismatic online multiplayer. While nan PC type added online play, Halo Studios is sticking purely to nan run constituent of nan original Halo game. The Halo franchise is known for its multiplayer, but this really started pinch Halo 2. I did inquire Microsoft to remark astir nan deficiency of multiplayer, but nan institution refused to talk it.

Even without multiplayer, Campaign Evolved is simply a blueprint for early Halo games. “For early titles, we will proceed to push nan boundaries of exertion while ensuring nan halfway Halo gameplay for that crippled tin beryllium seen, felt, heard, and evolved wherever needed,” says Hermann.

Halo: Campaign Evolved is coming successful 2026 to nan Xbox Series X / S, PC, and PS5. It’ll beryllium a time 1 crippled pinch Game Pass Ultimate / PC Game Pass, and will besides support Xbox Cloud Gaming and Xbox Play Anywhere.