Halo: Campaign Evolved: Everything We Know Before the July 28 Launch

On July 28, Master Chief lands on PlayStation for the first time. Halo: Campaign Evolved is a ground-up Unreal Engine 5 remake of Halo: Combat Evolved's campaign, rebuilt from scratch by Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries) to commemorate the franchise's 25th anniversary. It brings the original 10 missions, three brand-new prequel missions, 9 additional weapons, 42 gameplay-modifying Skulls, and 4-player online co-op with full crossplay across PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. After 25 years of Xbox exclusivity, Halo is going multiplatform. That alone makes this one of the most consequential releases of 2026.

Halo: Campaign Evolved is a full remake of the story campaign from 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved, the game that launched the Xbox platform and defined a generation of first-person shooters. This is not the 2011 Combat Evolved Anniversary remaster, which simply layered updated visuals on top of the original engine. Campaign Evolved was built from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5, with redesigned levels, new cinematics, re-recorded dialogue from the original voice cast, and a remastered soundtrack.

Notably, Campaign Evolved excludes the original game's competitive multiplayer. The focus is entirely on the campaign experience, solo or in 4-player online co-op. This is Halo's story, rebuilt for 2026 hardware and a 2026 audience that includes PlayStation players for the first time.

The developers preserved elements of the original Blam engine code for physics and enemy AI behavior, so Combat Evolved's distinct feel survives the transition. Game director Greg Hermann explained that moving to Unreal Engine 5 let the team refocus on gameplay and content design rather than simultaneously managing engine technology as they did with the proprietary Slipspace Engine used for Halo Infinite.

The Original Campaign, Rebuilt

All 10 original missions return, remade with high-definition visuals, updated cinematics, and refined level design. The creative team at Halo Studios aimed to faithfully rebuild every encounter while addressing design and accessibility constraints they couldn't fix in the 2011 Anniversary remaster. Improvements include better wayfinding and navigation during traversal, and improvements to enemy encounter diversity and pacing. They specifically cited the infamous Library mission, where fighting the Flood in the original could become monotonous, as a target for pacing improvements.

Combat has been expanded with mechanics from later Halo games. The Master Chief can now sprint (toggleable for a more faithful experience), hijack Covenant vehicles, and pilot a fully drivable Wraith tank. The Warthog has been redesigned with a fourth seat on the rear bumper, allowing a full four-player fireteam to ride together. Enemy variety has been updated to include Brutes and pure-form Flood from Halo 3, enemies that did not exist in the original Combat Evolved.

Nine additional weapons from across the Halo series join the original arsenal: the Covenant Energy Sword, Sub-Machine Gun, Battle Rifle, Fuel Rod Cannon, Sentinel Beam, Beam Rifle, Brute Plasma Rifle, Brute Spiker, and Needle Rifle. For the first time in a Halo: CE remake, players can wield the Energy Sword and commandeer any Covenant vehicle.

Operation: METEORITE: Three New Missions

The headline addition is Operation: METEORITE, three brand-new missions set one year before the events of Combat Evolved. Players control Master Chief alongside UNSC Sergeant Major Avery Johnson on a clandestine operation behind enemy lines, sneaking into a Covenant science fair aboard a Covenant vessel. New environments, new enemies, and new gameplay scenarios make these missions more than just bonus content. They are a genuine expansion of Halo's story canon.

Johnson is voiced by Keston John, who takes over the role following original voice actor David Scully's retirement in 2013. Steve Downes, Jen Taylor, and Tim Dadabo all return to reprise their roles as Master Chief, Cortana, and 343 Guilty Spark respectively.

The Premium Edition includes a short story, Halo: Hungry Buzzards, that expands on the Operation: METEORITE narrative.

42 Skulls and Endless Replayability

Campaign Evolved boasts 42 collectible Skulls, the highest number in any Halo campaign to date. 26 return from prior Halo titles, while 16 are new. Skulls are optional gameplay modifiers that can make combat easier, harder, or outright absurd. New additions include:

• Perspective: Enables third-person view for the entire campaign
• The Floor is Lava: Players take damage whenever they touch the ground
• Grunt Birthday Party (returning): Headshots on Grunts trigger confetti explosions

Combined with a weapon randomizer and the ability to remix every mission with different enemy layouts, Campaign Evolved is designed for repeated playthroughs. The Skull system gives the game a roguelike-adjacent replayability layer that the original never had.

HALO Old and New

Operation: METEORITE is the real draw. The original Combat Evolved campaign has been available in various forms for 25 years, but three new missions with Chief and Johnson on a Covenant vessel is genuinely uncharted territory. If Halo Studios can deliver new Halo missions that feel as good as the original's best moments (The Silent Cartographer, Assault on the Control Room), this could be the most replayed Halo campaign since Reach.

The Perspective Skull enabling third-person play across the entire campaign is a wild addition. Halo in third-person is something fans have experimented with via mods, but having it as an official option with full 4-player co-op support could transform how the game feels. And 42 Skulls with mission remixing means the replay value should be substantial.

The crossplay co-op is the other piece. Four players across PS5, Xbox, and PC with shared progression means nobody gets left out. That has been the promise of crossplay for years, but seeing it applied to a Halo campaign remake, with split-screen still available on consoles, is a strong package.

Halo: Campaign Evolved launches July 28, 2026 (early access July 23 with Premium Edition) on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam. Available day one on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Steam Deck Verified.

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