Xbox and Halo Studios have officially announced a full remake of Halo: Combat Evolved, rebuilt from the ground up and launching next year. It’s called Halo: Campaign Evolved — focused primarily on the game’s story mode — and will launch during the 25th anniversary of Halo.
I’ll never forget playing the original game — this remake fills me with nostalgia.
Ahead of the big announcment, QD spoke with Halo Studios executive producer Damon Conn and game director Greg Hermann.
Halo: Campaign Evolved
READ MORE: Review | Keeper: ‘Hypnotic, Engaging and Evolving’ (Xbox Series X)
Conn said the game is more than a remaster, describing it as a complete recreation designed to modernise the 2001 classic while preserving its tone and atmosphere.
“We’ve totally ground up, looked at, re-evaluated, and retouched every asset, re-recorded new voice work from the principal cast, rebuilt cinematics, new motion capture — it’s really kind of a ground up thing versus what we had done previously with Halo Anniversary,” he said.
The developers stressed that the remake isn’t intended to replace the original game, but to stand alongside it.
“The goal of remaking this original, iconic first episode of the franchise was not to replace the original.
“The original is a masterpiece, and what we’re doing is making something that can stand up next to that masterpiece again,” he said.
READ MORE: THIS Is An Xbox? | Testing The New Xbox App On LG TVs
New Campaign Missions
The game also includes three brand-new missions starring Master Chief and Sergeant Johnson, set before the events of the first game — even earlier than Halo: Reach.
Hermann said these missions explore the early bond between the two characters.
“It’s primarily around Master Chief and Sergeant Johnson, and it’s supposed to be the types of missions they would go on as they were building a relationship over time,” he said.
The game will also include more gameplay modifiers, known as “skulls,” than any previous Halo entry.
“We have three new missions and more skulls than we’ve ever had before, which allows returning players to remix the campaign and experience it differently while still offering a fresh adventure for new fans,” Conn said.
Halo: Campaign Evolved introduces a range of quality-of-life improvements, including optional sprinting, consistent weapon zoom, and the return of split screen co-op alongside four player online co-op with cross-play and cross-progression across all platforms.
Halo is coming to PlayStation 5
This marks the first time Master Chief’s story will appear on a PlayStation console (we’re not counting Fortnite).
READ MORE: Review | Battlefield 6: Single Player Campaign (PS5)
Conn said the move to PlayStation represents a major step for the series.
“We’re coming out to PlayStation for the first time. It’s a fantastic opportunity to introduce a whole new set of fans to Master Chief’s story and allow them to have the same kind of experience and joy that gamers have had on Xbox for the past 25 years,” he told QD.
Hermann said the studio is also working closely with Sony to explore DualSense features, though specifics are still being finalised.
“They came over and gave us a lot of food for thought when it came to the things their controllers do, and we’re still working through those specifics,” he said.
While this release focuses on the campaign, Halo Studios confirmed that discussions around multiplayer will come later.
Herman said the goal of the remake is to unite veterans and newcomers alike.
“Come back, experience the Halo ring for the first time — again. It recognises you’ve been there before, but it really is an entirely fresh take,” he said.
We played it!
After the interview, I had the opportunity to dive in to a 25 minute demo of the game featuring the mission “The Silent Cartographer”.
The moment the Warthog dropped and I climbed inside, the nostalgia was there. It controlled very much the same as how I remembered and it was a relatively smooth experience for a game still heavily in development.
READ MORE: Review | LEGO Party: ‘A New Favourite’ (PlayStation 5)
The grunts go down with a satisfying thud, ammo was scarce, forcing me to swap and change weapons, and the Hunters were as formidable as ever.
It was a short experience but it’s made me excited for the full release. As much as I loved the original on Xbox, I think I’m most excited to diving in on PS5.
Halo: Campaign Evolved is set to release in 2026 across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.
