Halo Studios is bringing the franchise full circle with Halo: Campaign Evolved, a full remake of the original Halo: Combat Evolved campaign built in Unreal Engine 5. Launching in 2026 across Xbox Series X|S, PC, Steam, and PlayStation 5, this ambitious project serves as both a love letter to longtime fans and a new entry point for those yet to experience Halo’s origins. Arriving day one on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, the remake introduces 4K visuals, enhanced sound, and a wealth of new content designed to celebrate and expand upon one of gaming’s most iconic adventures.
The original Halo: Combat Evolved was more than just a game; it was a cultural milestone that helped define the modern first-person shooter. The challenge for Halo Studios was never simply to rebuild it but to preserve its spirit while evolving it for a new generation. As Executive Producer Damon Conn explained, beginning with the original campaign felt like a natural foundation for this new era. “Starting here means people that have never played the game before will be able to understand the story from the very beginning,” Conn said. “Focusing on the campaign experience means we can concentrate fully on capturing the atmosphere, tone, and emotional impact that made it so special.”
In Halo: Campaign Evolved, players will experience the story they remember through a vastly modernized lens. Every environment has been carefully reconstructed from the ground up, using Unreal Engine 5 to produce striking new lighting, animation, and texture fidelity. Yet despite the technical overhaul, the team’s guiding philosophy has been to ensure every moment still feels unmistakably like Halo. Creative Director Max Szlagor noted that every update was evaluated with one essential question in mind: “Does this still feel like Halo?” That commitment has led to refined mission design, enhanced pacing, and improved wayfinding, particularly in levels such as The Library, which now includes updated dialogue and narrative context to guide players through its labyrinthine structure.
Cooperative play, a cornerstone of the Halo experience, has been expanded significantly. The remake retains the two-player local split screen while introducing four-player online co-op for the first time, supporting play across Xbox, PC, and PlayStation 5. This ensures that the sense of shared adventure remains as strong as it was in 2001, albeit now more connected and accessible than ever.
The game also enriches its combat sandbox with nine additional weapons drawn from later entries in the series, including the Energy Sword, Battle Rifle, and Needle Rifle. Players will even be able to hijack vehicles and pilot the Covenant Wraith tank, a first for the original campaign setting. In addition, the game introduces the largest selection of Skulls ever included in a Halo campaign, allowing for deeper customization and replayability.
Perhaps most intriguing are the three brand-new prequel missions, designed to expand upon the events leading up to the main campaign. These new chapters will feature previously unseen characters, environments, and enemies, offering new layers to the Halo mythos without rewriting its legacy. And yes, sprinting makes its debut in the original campaign, though purists can disable it to retain the classic pace.
Greg Hermann, the game’s director, emphasized the balance between authenticity and innovation. “It is critical that we deliver gameplay that is 100 percent authentically Halo at its core,” Hermann stated. By layering Unreal Engine 5’s advanced rendering over the legacy code from the original game, the studio has managed to preserve the physics, movement, and ‘feel’ that define Halo, while achieving an unprecedented level of visual fidelity.
Community engagement has also been central to the project’s evolution. Halo Studios has relied heavily on player input from its user research programs and the Halo Insider initiative to ensure the remake reflects what fans love most about the series. The studio plans to showcase a playable build of Halo: Campaign Evolved at the upcoming Halo World Championships, giving fans their first hands-on opportunity to experience the reimagined campaign.
As Conn summarized, the goal is not to replace the original game, but to create a companion piece that reintroduces Halo to modern audiences. “At its heart, Halo is about connection,” he said. “We’re not trying to rewrite Halo’s legacy – we’re trying to immerse you in it like never before.”
Halo: Campaign Evolved will launch in 2026 for Xbox Series X|S, PC, Steam, and PlayStation 5, supporting Xbox Cloud Gaming and Xbox Play Anywhere. It will be available from day one through Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, marking the next chapter in the storied legacy of one of gaming’s most beloved franchises.
