Halo: Campaign Evolved – Answering the Big Questions About This Ambitious Remake

It’s official; Halo marks the next chapter for the franchise with Halo: Campaign Evolved, a complete Unreal Engine 5 remake of the original campaign from Halo: Combat Evolved, including some brand-new surprises.

The original Halo: Combat Evolved is a stalwart of gaming history, a cultural icon that helped define the first-person shooter experience. For Halo Studios, bottling the impact of that original campaign and all of its special moments is the ultimate goal – for new players and long-time fans alike.

Halo: Campaign Evolved is a modern evolution of that iconic story, thoughtfully brought to life in Unreal Engine 5 with stunning new 4K visuals, updated animations, remastered music, and re-recorded voice lines. Halo Studios is also bringing in a roster of beloved weapons and vehicles from later Halo titles, and adding three new bonus campaign missions, all designed to expand and celebrate  the adventure that started it all.

Halo’s legacy of cooperative play continues here, supporting the original two-player local split screen experience on console, and, for the first time, up to four players in online co-op across Xbox, PC, and PlayStation 5.

Ahead of announce, I was able to speak to several key leads at Halo Studios, and gathered up some unique insight on how the team seeks to capture the tone and feel of the original game for a new generation, all the new lore and gameplay additions, and ultimately, while staying true to what has always made Halo special at its core.

Back to Where It All Began

Halo: Combat Evolved is where it all began, and for the team at Halo Studios – who have gone through an evolution of their own – there was no better place to start building this new generation of Halo. As Executive Producer Damon Conn puts it, remaking the very first campaign from the ground up was a perfect opportunity to craft an ideal entry point for new players and modernize areas that could better match today’s expectations for pacing and clarity (yes, we mean The Library, and we’ll get to that shortly).

“We wanted to start where it all began, with the original campaign that defined Halo,” Conn explains. “Starting here means people that have never played the game before will be able to understand the story from the very beginning, and that can help us chart a course forward with new Halo stories.”

“Focusing on the campaign experience means we can concentrate fully on really capturing the atmosphere, tone – the emotional impact of what made the first campaign so special and iconic.”

How Will Campaign Evolved Preserve the ‘Halo Spirit’?

Keeping that classic Halo “feel” is of course of prime importance, and capturing that took the team all the way back to the source material – the original Combat Evolved campaign as it was first presented in 2001. TThe goal was to understand how modern updates to systems and environments could complement, not replace, the essence of the original experience – to make it feel just as players remember, only smoother and more seamless than ever before.

 “The campaign has been rebuilt to feel handcrafted and immersive, true to what players remember, not just visually, but emotionally,” adds Conn.

How Will Campaign Evolved Update Existing Missions?

Preserving the Halo spirit means the team has taken great care to not modernize for the sake of modernization. It’s not about rebuilding Halo: Combat Evolved’s story and spaces to ‘fit in’ with a roster of today’s games, but to ensure that its original feel has evolved to suit modern players. Every change has been shaped by the same question: Does this still feel like Halo?

“Because this is a remake, we’ve been able to carefully rebuild almost every level and every encounter with more fidelity,” says Max Szlagor, Creative Director. “As we’re building the technology for this game, we’ve had to do it piece by piece, which included reevaluating all of the individual elements as we’re revisiting them in the original game.”

“And now the campaign supports up to four-player co-op, we had to think about how all of the original encounters and spaces can scale to accommodate that many players.”

The Library is a perfect example to demonstrate how the team is thoughtfully enhancing existing spaces in an authentic way. Halo: Combat Evolved’s seventh campaign mission is a key example of where it felt right to make tweaks to several areas to create a new experience that balances nostalgia with the expectations of today’s gamers.

“We learned from Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary that there was still an appetite for things like better wayfinding, navigation, and diversity in enemy encounters,” Szlagor says. “In The Library specifically, which features several Flood encounters, we wanted to reevaluate the pacing and enhance the environmental storytelling. We’ve added new lines to Guilty Spark, which guide players through the level, and there’s new dialogue that gives more insight into the narrative as it plays out.”

 “We’re not changing the stories, it’s about refining and adding context to this moment, and other levels like it, so players can stay on track.”

What New Elements are Halo Studios Adding to the Original?

In Halo: Campaign Evolved, you’ll be able to wield nine additional iconic weapons from across the Halo series inside the Halo: Combat Evolved campaign, including the Energy Sword, Battle Rifle and Needle Rifle, giving you more ways to approach every encounter.

“Some of the weapons we’re bringing in could be used against you in Halo: Combat Evolved by the enemy, but you weren’t able to pick them up yourself.” Szlagor says. “Now, you can, and it feels natural because of how you can do that in other Halo games, it reflects the evolution of the series.”

Players can also look forward to two firsts for the campaign — you can now hijack vehicles and even pilot the Covenant Wraith tank for the first time in Halo: Combat Evolved.

For challenge seekers, Halo Studios is also featuring the most Skulls ever in a Halo campaign, for even more ways to modify the campaign experience.

And perhaps most exciting, the team has added three brand-new prequel missions set before the events of the Halo: Combat Evolved campaign, which introduce entirely new environments, characters and enemies, which we’ll find out more about very soon.

Oh – and you can sprint now, if you’d like, or disable it if you don’t.

How Are Halo Studios Using Unreal Engine 5?

The Halo spirit is not just about the debut’s impact – the studio is effectively incorporating 25 years of player feedback and technological advancement into Halo: Campaign Evolved. The latter is supported by the team’s pivot to Unreal Engine 5, which, with the foundation of Halo’s legacy code, will support the game’s development. It’s not an entirely new ecosystem for Halo Studios – they’ve dabbled quietly with Unreal projects in the past – and that has only reinforced that the tools on offer, combined with original resources, are what Halo needs to futureproof itself for the generations to come.

“Given that Halo: Campaign Evolved is a remake, it is critical that we deliver gameplay that is 100% authentically Halo at its core, ” says Greg Hermann, Game Director on Halo: Campaign Evolved.

All of the new content created in Unreal Engine 5 is layered on top of code and systems carried directly over from the original games. That legacy code is instrumental in maintaining that authentic “Halo feel” within gameplay. It means that Halo Studios can achieve the desired visual goal with Unreal’s photorealistic rendering capabilities, with the simulation systems of Halo living and breathing beneath it, Hermann adds.

“For future titles, we will continue to push the boundaries of technology while ensuring the core Halo gameplay for that game can be seen, felt, heard, and evolved where needed.”

How are Halo Studios Balancing Serving New and Core Players?

While the team knows its tools best, it’s the Halo community that plays a fundamental role in how Halo Studios moves forward.

“Our player-first approach has informed so many decisions for the better,” Szlagor adds. “When we introduce new features or make creative choices, we’re constantly checking in with players through our user research studies and our Halo Insider program. Their feedback helps us stay grounded in what feels authentic to Halo.

That commitment to player input also extends beyond the studio walls. Halo: Campaign Evolved will be playable for the first time at the Halo World Championships, giving our players an early hands-on look at how the game is coming along. Halo: Campaign Evolved doesn’t seek to replace the original game, but instead, offer a modern experience that can stand proudly beside it. When new players launch the game for the first time, it must recapture the indescribable feel of picking up Halo for the first time 25 years ago on the original Xbox. That’s the moment we all remember so fondly, a moment that the Halo team recalls as “transformative”, that it wants to share with as many players as possible.

“We’re so excited about bringing Halo to those who may not have had chance to play it in the past,” Conn adds. “At its heart, Halo is about connection, we’re thrilled to meet a new generation of players on their platforms of choice to fall in love with Halo the same way we did. We’re not trying to rewrite Halo’s legacy – we’re trying to immerse you in it like never before.”

“This is Halo for everyone.”

Halo: Campaign Evolved is coming in 2026 to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Steam, PlayStation 5, supports Xbox Cloud Gaming and Xbox Play Anywhere and arrives day one with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.

Halo: Campaign Evolved

Xbox Game Studios

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Experience Where the Legend Begins

Halo: Campaign Evolved is a faithful yet modernized remake of Halo: Combat Evolved’s campaign. Experience the original story rebuilt with high-definition visuals, updated cinematics, and refined controls, plus three brand-new prequel missions featuring the Master Chief and Sgt. Johnson. A broader arsenal of weapons, vehicles, enemies, and gameplay-modifying “Skulls” – optional modifiers that change combat in fun and challenging ways – add fresh tactics and endless replayability.

Play it your way: solo, in 2-player split-screen co-op (console only), or up to 4-player online co-op with full crossplay and cross-progression support. Whether you’re discovering Halo for the first time or returning to the ring after 25 years, Halo: Campaign Evolved delivers an adventure that feels both timeless and brand new.

Discover the Ringworld

After crash landing on a mysterious ringworld known as Halo, the Master Chief is tasked with helping the remaining humans survive against overwhelming Covenant forces. Alongside his AI companion Cortana, he uncovers Halo’s dark secrets and fights to avert the annihilation of all life in the galaxy.

Key Features

The Complete Campaign, Rebuilt
Battle through the original missions, newly rebuilt with enhanced level design, updated cinematics, and improved wayfinding, refined to keep the pace moving without losing the wonder, tension, or heroism of the original.

Cinematics and Audio Overhauled
Iconic vistas, alien architecture, and sci-fi wonders are reborn with all-new visuals, cinematics, and animations. The soundtrack has been remastered, the sound design updated for greater immersion, and new voice performances recorded with the primary cast.

Combat and Weapons Expanded
Classic Halo combat feels instantly familiar yet sharper than ever. Sprint, aim, and engage with refined precision. For the first time in Halo: CE, you can wield 9 additional iconic weapons from across the series, including the Energy Sword, Battle Rifle, and Needle Rifle, giving you more ways to approach every fight.

Three New Prequel Missions
Join the Master Chief and Sgt. Johnson in a brand-new arc set before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved, featuring new environments, gameplay, characters, and enemies.

Play Solo or with Friends
Experience the full campaign in 2-player split-screen co-op (console only) or 4-player online co-op, complete with crossplay and shared progression across console and PC.

Drive, Hijack, Wreak Havoc
Whether you’re racing across the map in a Warthog or flipping it over with friends, vehicles have always been at the heart of Halo’s fun. Now they go even further: for the first time in Halo: CE, you can hijack enemy rides and pilot a fully drivable Wraith, creating unforgettable chaos.

Remix Your Campaign for Endless Replayability
Use the campaign remix feature to return to any mission and remix the experience with the most gameplay-modifying “Skulls” ever in a Halo campaign. These optional modifiers add challenge and variety with randomized weapons, enemies, and environments.