Halo Campaign Evolved marks a new beginning for the series, in more ways than one
2026 preview: A remake of the first game is the ideal way to kick off Halo’s previously unthinkable arrival on PlayStation
Sometimes, when you’ve taken something as far as it can naturally go, the best thing to do is start with a new beginning.
With Halo: Campaign Evolved, Halo Studios is not only going with that theory, but in doing so is interpreting the idea of a ‘new beginning’ in three different ways.
Firstly, it’s quite literally a ‘new’ version of the game’s ‘beginning’ – namely, a remake of the original Halo: Combat Evolved from 2001. New levels have been added, existing ones have been rejigged, and while the general story is the same, the cutscenes will all be entirely new and given new voiceovers by many of the original game’s returning cast.
Rather than the simple graphical update as seen in Halo Anniversary – which was merely overlaid on top of the base game to the extent that players could toggle between the old and new versions at the touch of a button – Campaign Evolved is a full remake built in Unreal Engine 5.
So focused is the studio on making sure it gets this retelling of the original Halo story correct that, as the title suggests, there’s only a Campaign mode here. The online multiplayer that contributed so much to what made Halo popular will come in later games – for now, the only multiplayer options are local and online (crossplay) co-op in the Campaign itself.
The second interpretation of ‘a new beginning’ is for the series and Halo Studios in general. The decision to ditch the Slipspace Engine from Halo Infinite in favour of Unreal Engine 5 feels like more than a developmental one, it’s also a symbolic one as the developer sheds the troubled past of Infinite in favour of an entirely fresh start.
Halo Infinite dealt several blows to the IP’s credibility. The negative feedback and ‘Craig’ memes when it was first revealed, the decision to delay it and leave Xbox Series X/S without a major launch title, the fact it ended up being out of the Game of the Year loop (it wasn’t among the six GOTY nominees at The Game Awards 2021), and the rapid drop in interest in its online multiplayer, all did chip damage to the reputation of a once industry-leading brand.
As a result, Halo Studios cut its ‘10 year plan’ for Infinite short, announcing in November that it had officially ended major updates for the game so it could focus on the “multiple” titles it has in development, starting with Campaign Evolved. By taking the series back to where it all began, it’s clear that Halo Studios is trying to wipe the slate clean and rebuild.
Finally, of course, Campaign Evolved marks ‘a new beginning’ for an entirely new set of players who have never been exposed to the series before – PlayStation owners. Forza Horizon on PS5 may be the bigger deal in terms of modern critical and commercial success stories, but there can be no denying the seismic importance of Master Chief stepping into ‘enemy’ territory. It’s up there with ‘Sonic on Nintendo’, but at least in that situation Sega had already stopped making consoles, as opposed to Xbox’s promise that another is still on the way.
For dedicated PlayStation owners who continually resisted the temptation to allow the big green X into their home, the promise of finally getting to see what all the fuss was about will be a tempting offer. For them, the chance to not only play their first Halo game but literally play THE first Halo game, allowing them to start the story from the beginning, will be the ideal gateway.
And then, if enough PlayStation fans fall in love with the series, when that next Halo game follows – with the return of online multiplayer, no doubt – the chances of success will be much greater with a larger player base to start from.
The decision to bring Halo to PlayStation may have been the one to finally “finish the fight”, but it could prove to be the new lease on life for the series that Xbox fans have been hoping for – one that, ironically, could be sparked by their one-time rival players.
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