The many leaks and rumours were correct – Halo: Campaign Evolved is the oddly named remake of the original Halo: Combat Evolved, minus the multiplayer. And it’s coming to PlayStation, as well as Xbox and PC.
The announcement was made during the Halo World Championships, where Halo Studios smartly decided to show off the new game in a 13-minute long demo. The Halo franchise doesn’t have the same cache it once did, so I think it was a good idea to properly show off the remake rather than just put out a short teaser trailer.
This is not just a remaster, though, as Campaign Evolved is going to feature three new missions that take place before the events of the campaign. In them, you’ll fight alongside series icon Sergeant Avery Johnson.
Canonically speaking, there’s just 20 days between the events of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo: Reach. These three new missions might act as a bridge between the two games. I’m going to throw out a guess here and say the missions might be set aboard the Pillar of Autumn as it travels through space toward the Ringworld.
You’ll also be able to tackle the campaign in 2-player split-screen co-op, or up to four players online. Cross-play and cross-progression will also be supported, in case you fancy jumping between platforms.
Other weapons from across the franchise are also getting added to the game, including the Needler and Energy Sword. This is an interesting choice because it could upset the balance of the gameplay, as will the inclusion of so many players. Halo Studios will need to rework the encounters to make all everything work.
Other gameplay changes will include being able to hijack enemy vehicles for some added mobility. Even the Warthog is getting an upgrade to four seats so you can merrily drive your friends off of a cliff. By accident, of course.
If all that wasn’t enough, the new visuals are going to be reinforced with new motion captured animations, and newly recorded dialogue from returning cast members.
There’s new audio work, too, although watching the video, some of it sounds less impressive than the original game. Perhaps just my nostalgia talking, though.
Oh, and yes, sprinting has been added into the game. That’s going to cause some spirited debate, I’m sure.
Finally, Skulls are being added to the game to help add extra replay value.
Interestingly, the rumours mentioned that the game was built on both Unreal Engine 5 – which handles the graphics – and the Halo: Reach engine which would do everything else. There’s no official mention of this anywhere that I can find, though, so either they simply haven’t discussed it yet or the rumour was not true.
This also marks another major moment in gaming history: Halo on PlayStation. We all knew it was coming, and yet it still feels… shocking.
Halo: Campaign Evolved will launch in 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X and PC.
