Microsoft just dropped a bombshell at the Halo World Championship: Halo is coming to PlayStation 5. Seriously, nobody saw that coming. They’re calling it “Halo: Campaign Evolved,” and it’s a full-blown remake of the original “Halo: Combat Evolved” campaign. The new version is set to launch next year, and it’s not just for PlayStation 5 PC and Xbox Series X/S players get it too.
This changes everything. For ages, Halo and Xbox went hand-in-hand. Now, seeing Halo land on a rival console flips that whole idea on its head. Microsoft isn’t just sharing a game they’re rewriting the rules about what it means to be exclusive. The message is loud and clear: the old console boundaries don’t matter like they used to.
“We wanted to go back to where it all started with the original campaign that made Halo what it is,” said Damon Conn, the executive producer, during the championship event. He talked about why it matters to return to the series’ roots: “If we start here, even people who’ve never touched Halo can get into the story right from the beginning. It sets us up for more new Halo stories down the road.”
They’re rebuilding “Halo: Campaign Evolved” from scratch using Unreal Engine 5. So, expect sharp visuals, smoother controls, and a bunch of new features. There’s two-player splitscreen co-op on console and up to four-player online co-op on both console and PC. On top of that, the game brings three brand-new missions, more weapons and vehicles, and even some new enemy types. It’s launching on Game Pass from day one, which just shows how serious Microsoft is about its subscription service.
If you’re just jumping into Halo, the story kicks off with Master Chief crash-landing on this mysterious ring-shaped world called Halo. He teams up with the last surviving humans to fight back against the relentless Covenant, and with help from his AI sidekick Cortana, starts digging into the ring’s dark secrets. The stakes? Stopping the galaxy from getting wiped out. That’s the backbone of “Halo: Campaign Evolved,” and yeah, that part hasn’t changed. But a lot around it has.
Director Max Szlagor talked about what they learned from the last remake. He said players still want better wayfinding, navigation, and more variety in enemy fights. They really focused on “The Library” level this time a level people love to complain about. Szlagor said they took another look at how it flows and wanted to tell the story better through the environment. They didn’t just tweak the layout. Now, Guilty Spark has new lines to help guide you, and there’s extra dialogue sprinkled in to deepen the story as you play.
At the World Championship, the gameplay demo gave us a real look at what’s new for Master Chief. Now, you get to pick up nine extra weapons from the Halo series stuff like the Energy Sword, Battle Rifle, and Needle Rifle all inside the original campaign. Combat feels bigger, too. You can hijack vehicles or take control of the Covenant Wraith tank if you want to just roll over everything in your path. There’s more strategy here, more ways to play.
Conn talked about how putting the spotlight on the campaign lets the team really nail the atmosphere and emotion that made the first game stand out. He sounded pretty sure they’ll win over new fans. “We’re so excited about bringing Halo to people who never got to play it before,” he said.
This is a pretty big shift for the gaming world. For years, console makers treated their exclusive games like prized possessions big reasons to buy their hardware. Now, with Microsoft putting Halo on PlayStation, it feels like they’re playing a different game. They’re betting on software and services, aiming to get their games in front of as many people as possible, no matter what device they’re using.
They dropped this news at the Halo World Championship, which pulls in top Halo players and fans from everywhere. The event’s always been about showing off the best of Halo and celebrating the community. Announcing it there? That really shows Microsoft’s not just thinking about Halo’s history they’re looking ahead and opening the door to new ways for the game to grow.
“Halo’s always been about bringing people together,” Conn said. “Honestly, we can’t wait to welcome a whole new crowd of players on whatever platform they like. We fell in love with Halo, and now it’s their turn. We’re not here to change what Halo means we just want you to feel it more deeply than ever.” He wrapped up with a smile, “This is Halo for everyone.” Now, everyone’s watching to see how this big move will shake up console gaming and what it means for exclusives going forward.
