A new report from insider RebsGaming claims that Halo Studios is increasingly relying on outsourced development for its future projects, following heavy use of external studios on the recently launched Halo: Campaign Evolved, as well as the canceled multiplayer game codenamed Project Ekur. According to the report, this strategy traces back to comments from Halo Studios head Pierre Hintze, who developers reportedly said intended to outsource as much development as possible. Hintze was also recently the subject of claims of mismanagement and harassment. RebsGaming says the credits for Halo: Campaign Evolved confirm that all areas of development were outsourced across […]
Shortly after the launch of Halo: Campaign Evolved, a few developers shared on LinkedIn that they had been laid off, sparking fears of another round of layoffs at developer Halo Studios. The studio once known as 343 Industries came unscathed out of the latest round of mass Xbox layoffs, but that could change quickly, especially since the game's early reception hasn't been great. However, GamesBeat's Dean Takahashi reported that there haven't been any internal job cuts and that those people were external contractors. The source said: No layoffs have occurred at Halo Studios. There are often external contractor shifts that […]
Halo Studios – and the IP as a whole – have been in a bit of a state of limbo ever since 2021’s Halo Infinite failed to become the decade-long juggernaut that Microsoft was hoping it would become. Going back to the drawing board, the team announced that they were remaking the OG Halo: Combat Evolved. Officially launching last week to a somewhat mixed reception, one insider has now revealed the myriad of issues encountered during the development of Halo: Campaign Evolved.
According to fans, one of the most notable downgrades with the remake is in its cutscenes – due to its pre-rendered nature alongside overall weak cinematography, direction and animations.
As claimed by Rebs, these cutscenes were initially intended to be real-time in nature. However, due to issues with their use of contractors, strict timelines and a change of support studios, they ultimately went the pre-rendered route.
Full details on the different ways in which Halo: Campaign Evolved’s development suffered can be found HERE. According to Rebs however, a majority of the blame should be put on Halo Studios leadership and their decision-making.
Regardless, with Campaign Evolved seemingly teasing that a remake of Halo 2 is next in line, here’s to hoping that the sequel proves to have a far smoother time during development. We will have to wait and see.
KitGuru says: What do you think of Halo Campaign Evolved? Does it stay faithful to the original in your opinion? Do you want them to work on Halo 2 and 3 remakes or not? Let us know down below.
After years of waiting, anticipation and tons of promises, Halo Infinite would ultimately prove to be somewhat of a disappointment upon its arrival in 2021; with the latest entry in the series feeling incomplete. Going back to the drawing board, 343 Industries would then transform itself into Halo Studios – announcing a campaign remake of Halo: Combat Evolved. Officially launching last week, the game has been met with a somewhat mixed reception.
Launching to a Metacritic score of 80, Halo: Campaign Evolved is one of the lowest-rated entries in the series, falling far below Bungie’s offerings and even failing to match the highs of Infinite (which managed a Metacritic score of 87). That said, general sentiment appears to place it as one of the better ways to experience the original Halo in today’s age.
Some of the criticism towards the remake include its newly recorded dialogue (some of which in players’ ears sounds inferior to the original); the mechanical changes (such as the removal of health kits) and the alterations made to enemy AI, making this feel less like a 1:1 recreation of the original classic.
As is the case with all Xbox titles, we have not gotten any sales data for Campaign Evolved. According to industry analyst Mat Piscatella however, the day of Halo: Campaign Evolved's launch saw 8% of total active Xbox players checking out the game; 2% of Steam players and just 1% of active PS5 players. Of course, active players are constantly fluctuating and so these metrics can’t be taken as the absolute truth – especially since this only accounts for those in the US.
Still, it appears as though Halo: Campaign Evolved has not resonated too much with players – old and new alike. It will be interesting to see whether this affects Microsoft's decision to remake the entire trilogy.
KitGuru says: What do you think of Halo: Campaign Evolved? Is it an evolution over the original? What’s the most important part of a faithful remake? Let us know down below.
Today, NVIDIA has released a new Game Ready Driver for its GeForce graphics cards, optimized for the launch of Halo: Campaign Evolved and the upcoming Gears of War: E-Day beta. Halo: Campaign Evolved launches today (after a brief period of advanced access) with built-in support for DLSS Super Resolution, DLSS Frame Generation, and NVIDIA Reflex. Through the NVIDIA app, GeForce users can upgrade to DLSS 4.5 Dynamic Multi Frame Generation and the latest Super Resolution model. Tomorrow, Chinese developer Bellring Games will launch the extraction action RPG Mistfall Hunter, which features DLSS Super Resolution, Multi Frame Generation, Dynamic Multi Frame […]
Halo Campaign Evolved is now out for those who pre-ordered the deluxe edition. As you may expect, some hardcore fans have already completed the game on Legendary difficulty, and in keeping with the series' usual tradition, finishing the game on Legendary does unlock a secret cutscene.
The secret cutscene that players are rewarded with this time around is a bit of an odd one. As discovered by Sean Dubs, the legendary cutscene this time around features Seargent Johnson breaking the fourth wall, speaking directly to the player and saying “see you in the sequel”, so it would seem that we can expect a Halo 2 remake at some point in the future as well, assuming it doesn't get cancelled.
Microsoft has not openly confirmed plans for the Halo 2 remake yet, outside of the secret cutscene at the end of Halo Campaign Evolved. It seems highly likely though, as the Halo 1 Remake includes assets for weapons and enemy types that appear in the later games, so they should be able to get it made in a relatively short period of time.
Xbox is also now moving back to exclusive games, so if a Halo 2 Remake were to be made, they could speed up the release by dropping PS5 from the list of supported platforms.
KitGuru Says: While there might be plans for a Halo 2 remake right now, things at Halo Studios have been so up in the air in recent years that I wouldn't necessarily view the cutscene reveal as 100% confirmation.
The upcoming Halo game is receiving optimizations ahead of the official launch through the latest hotfix driver. NVIDIA Fixes Stability Issues in Halo: Campaign Evolved Through Hotfix Driver 610.82; Also Announces Bug Fixes for Path of Exile 2 Halo: Campaign Evolved is Halo Studios' upcoming title in the franchise, which is set to launch in the coming days. However, those who already have the game on their systems through early access are apparently having issues with the title. It's not a very common issue, and we haven't heard about it yet, but since NVIDIA has rolled out a driver update, […]
Microsoft has revealed the next wave of titles for Xbox Game Pass. For starters, Hell is Us is joining the service this week after a year on the market, offering a very non-linear post-apocalyptic adventure that will test your wits and combat skill. The big headliner though is of course Halo: Campaign Evolved, a complete remake of the original Halo campaign with some added content.
Halo: Campaign Evolved marks a major change for the series, being the first to run completely on Unreal Engine 5. Graphically, the game looks great, but we will have to play it for ourselves to see if the classic feel of the Halo shooters translates over well in the new engine.
Here is the full list of titles joining Game Pass over the next couple of weeks along with supported platforms and dates:
Shift at Midnight (Cloud, XBOX Series X|S, PC) – July 22
Hell is Us (Cloud, XBOX Series X|S, PC) – July 23
Halo: Campaign Evolved (Cloud, Console, Handheld, PC) – July 28
Mistfall Hunter (Cloud, XBOX Series X|S, PC) – July 30
Corsair Cove (PC) – July 31
Heretic + Hexen (Cloud, Console, Handheld, PC) – August 4
Beast of Reincarnation (Cloud, XBOX Series X|S, Handheld, PC) – August 4
As usual, there will be a handful of games leaving the Game Pass library this month. Starting from July 31st, the following games will no longer be available:
Back to the Dawn (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Celeste (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Crusader Kings 3 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord (Cloud, Console, and PC)
My Friendly Neighborhood (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Rain World (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Sniper Elite Resistance (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Whiskerwood (PC)
KitGuru Says: Are you planning on installing any of the new Game Pass titles? Hell is Us has been on my radar for a while now so I'm looking forward to trying it.
Halo Campaign Evolved looked much better than I was expecting, in part thanks to a fresh set of skulls that make some insanely fun changes to gameplay. Now, with the game just a few more weeks away, Microsoft has confirmed the game's PC system requirements, including recommended specs for 1080p, 1440p and 4K.
In the table below, you can see the full PC system requirements for Halo Campaign Evolved, the new Unreal Engine 5-based remake of the original Halo game:
Windows 10 22H2 64‑bit / Windows 11 (ReBAR Recommended)
Storage
SSD with 100GB available space
Halo Campaign Evolved is a complete remake of the original Halo Combat Evolved campaign, but with a few extra missions and some other gameplay tweaks. Aside from being the first game in the series to run entirely on Unreal Engine 5, it is also the first game in the series to offer a third-person gameplay mode, so you can see more of the action on-screen, including Master Chief himself. Traditionally, all of the mainline Halo games have been first-person shooters.
Halo Campaign Evolved launches on July 28th for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
KitGuru Says: I wasn't planning on picking this up when it was first announced but it honestly looks like they did a great job with it. The question is, will they eventually give the same treatment to Halo 2 and Halo 3?
[Update - June 11, 5:00 PM EST] Although Halo: Campaign Evolved is set to be quite demanding at Ultra settings, a new early look from Digital Foundry suggests the game can run well on a variety of systems, including handhelds like the Xbox ROG Ally X. Original story follows. [Original Story] The skepticism surrounding Halo: Campaign Evolved for its ditching of the Slipspace Engine in favor of the Unreal Engine 5 for its return to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S seems to have been well-founded, as an NVIDIA RTX 5090 GPU, the best consumer GPU available, doesn't hit […]
Bungie had initially developed Halo 1 with a fully working third-person camera, but it was never enabled for players except when driving vehicles. That will be changing in the remake, with a full third-person camera option for the entire campaign.
The third-person campaign gameplay has been showcased in a new video uploaded today. It is a playthrough of The Silent Cartographer, one of the most popular missions from the original game.
The first thing that immediately stood out to me was the sense of scale. Some of this gets lost in first-person, but Master Chief is massive, and I can really appreciate more of the level / character design overall in this third-person mode.
We still don't know if the developers will be able to truly match the feel of a Halo game in Unreal Engine 5 but so far, it seems to have nailed the art direction, UI and even menus for this remake.
KitGuru Says: Will you be picking up Halo Campaign Evolved when it drops? Will you be playing it in third-person or sticking to classic first-person?
One of the biggest talking points surrounding Microsoft’s Xbox Games Showcase was the fact that the publisher would be returning to console exclusives – sort of. While Gears of War E-Day and Clockwork Revolution are now set to be limited to the Xbox Series X/S (on consoles at least), the former was seemingly initially planned to also arrive on PlayStation 5. Additionally, insiders have claimed that Halo Campaign Evolved was initially going to be featured at Sony’s State of Play…until Microsoft changed their minds.
In the immediacy following Microsoft’s Xbox Games Showcase, it was discovered that Gears of War E-Day appeared to have been initially planned to be a multi-platform release, with a (now delisted) Xbox Podcast video featuring the PlayStation 5 logo at the end of the trailer.
Adding to this, according to known insider Chris Dring (and seeming partially corroborated by other known-insider Tom Warren) Microsoft had originally planned to show off Halo Campaign Evolved during PlayStation’s recent State of Play – though later “decided against it, which has angered Sony.”
As mentioned by Dring, the Halo reports are simply “gossip” and so should be taken with a pinch of salt. That said, there is no denying that there appears to be some weirdness going on at Xbox currently. Hopefully a clearer plan is made evident as time goes on.
KitGuru says: What do you think of Xbox going back partially to exclusives? Is there any rhyme or reason for the titles selected? Let us know your thoughts down below.
Microsoft has revealed new details about Halo: Campaign Evolved, giving fans a closer look at the fresh content arriving with the upcoming release. While the game recreates the original Halo: Combat Evolved adventure, players will also get an entirely new story campaign called Operation: METEORITE.
The newly announced missions take place before the events of the first Halo game and follow Master Chief and Sgt. Johnson during a secret UNSC operation. Their mission begins as a routine assignment but quickly turns into something much bigger after unexpected discoveries aboard a Covenant research vessel.
Operation: METEORITE includes three new story missions and introduces areas that were never seen in the original game. Players will encounter new enemy variants, use additional weapons from across the Halo franchise, and take part in battles both inside Covenant facilities and in space.
Microsoft said the new campaign was created to expand the Halo universe while staying true to the feel of the original game. To help achieve that goal, the company worked with Halo author Troy Denning, whose previous novels have helped shape many important stories within the franchise.
Alongside the new story content, Halo: Campaign Evolved will still include the full 10-mission campaign that made the original game a classic. This means both returning fans and new players will have plenty of content to experience when the game launches.
Pre-orders for the game are now available on Xbox, Steam, and PlayStation. Players who pre-order will receive bonus cosmetic rewards, including special armour and weapon skins inspired by the original 2001 release.
The game will be offered in Standard, Premium, and Collector’s Editions. Premium Edition buyers will gain up to five days of early access before launch, while the Collector’s Edition includes several physical items designed for Halo fans and collectors.
Microsoft has confirmed that Halo: Campaign Evolved launches on July 28, 2026. The game supports cross-play and cross-progression across Xbox Series X|S, PC, Steam, and PlayStation 5. It will also be available on day one through Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
With a mix of classic Halo gameplay and completely new story missions, Halo: Campaign Evolved aims to give players a fresh reason to return to one of gaming’s most iconic adventures.
Over the weekend, Xbox revealed more footage of Halo: Campaign Evolved, showing that the move to Unreal Engine has brought the biggest visual fidelity boost in the series' long history. Now, Halo Studios has announced the game's PC system requirements, showing a fairly accessible 1080p/60FPS experience.
While we always expected Unreal Engine to be a great change for Halo visually, there was some concern on the impact the engine change could have on performance and optimisation. However, it does look like Halo Studios has got the PC system requirements as low as possible while still targeting 60FPS at all tiers.
The minimum PC system requirements for Halo: Campaign Evolved call for an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel Core i7-10700K CPU, 16GB of RAM and an RTX 2060, RX 6600 or Arc A580 graphics card. The medium requirements bump this up to a Ryzen 7 5700X or Core i5-12600K CPU and an RTX 3070 or RX 7600 GPU for 1440p/60FPS gameplay.
The High and Ultra tiers both target 4K/60FPS, presumably at the equivalent graphics preset setting. For High, you'll want at least a Ryzen 7 7700 or Core i7-12700K, 32GB of RAM, and an RTX 3080 Ti or RX 9070 graphics card. For Ultra, this is bumped up to a Ryzen 9 7900X or Core i9-13900K CPU and an RTX 4080.
As always, the system requirements are more of a guideline than a hard rule. For instance, if you have a Ryzen 5 5600X instead of a Ryzen 7 5700X, that isn't going to stop you from being able to get 1440p/60FPS if you have a strong enough graphics card.
However, it is worth noting that Nvidia no longer brings game-specific optimisations to its drivers for older GTX 10 series graphics cards, so you will want to be on an RTX 2060 or newer to avoid potential issues like crashes.
KitGuru Says: Are you planning on picking up Halo: Campaign Evolved?
It has been a while since we have seen Halo Campaign Evolved in action, and today's Xbox Games Showcase not only provided a new look at Operation: METEORITE, but also confirmed the game's late July release date, making it one of the very few high-profile games launching this year that will soundly avoid Grand Theft Auto 6's November release. The Unreal Engine 5 remake of the campaign of the first entry in the series will launch precisely on July 28 on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S, but those who purchase the Premium Edition or Collector's […]
The Xbox Games Showcase returns to the Summer Games Fest season this year, but while the format remains the same, everything at the company has changed. With a new leadership team, led by head Asha Sharma, and the goal of reclaiming fans' goodwill following the disastrous "Everything is an Xbox" campaign, this year's showcase marked a sort of new beginning for the entire brand, returning to console exclusives. Official Livestream Everything Announced First-Party & Xbox Game Studios Highlights Partner & Global Developer Showcases Last updated: June 8, 2026
Halo leaker RebsGaming reports that Halo Studios is already working on remakes for the second and third installments in the sci-fi first-person shooter franchise. Halo 2 and Halo 3 are currently in early development, presumably powered by Unreal Engine 5 like the first game's remake; this builds on a previous claim from a former Halo Studios developer, and is now backed by two additional sources, one of whom provided verification to RebsGaming and confirmed the trilogy remakes will proceed regardless of how well the upcoming Halo: Campaign Evolved performs. A separate source (the same one who leaked an unreleased Campaign […]
It sounds like Halo: Campaign Evolved will be releasing much sooner than expected. The game was announced last year, with a vague 2026 release window but recent leaks point to a July release date.
In a cryptic tweet, dataminer @grunt.api revealed that Halo Campaign Evolved may be playable as early as July 23rd for premium edition pre-order buyers, followed by a wider release to all players and Game Pass subscribers on July 28th.
Halo Campaign Evolved is a modern rebuild of the original Halo: Combat Evolved campaign inside of Unreal Engine 5. It keeps the structure and narrative of the 2001 release but reworks levels, AI behaviour, combat flow and visuals to bring the experience in line with modern shooters.
Recently, it was also claimed that the new remake may also include a few extra campaign missions that expand lore and introduce enemies that were not originally present in the first Halo game.
KitGuru Says: At this point in my life, I have played Halo 1 too many times on both Xbox and PC to really get excited for this remake. However, if you are someone who grew up with a PlayStation and never had the opportunity to play this campaign from start to finish, this should be worth picking up.
It is going to be years before we see a new mainline Halo game but in the meantime, the newly formed Halo Studios does have something else for fans – Halo: Campaign Evolved. New details about this remake have recently surfaced, revealing new missions that expand on the original story.
Halo: Campaign Evolved is an Unreal Engine 5 remake of the original Halo 1 campaign. In the interest of speed, it has recently been claimed by Halo-focused YouTuber, Rebs Gaming, that a number of assets from Halo Infinite will be re-used to put the remake together faster.
While playing through the original campaign will be fun for fans both new and old, the real hook for longtime fans here is the addition of new campaign missions. According to the video, these extra campaign missions will focus on the rivalry between ODSTs and Spartans, and hone in on a particularly religious sect of the Covenant. For the first time, Brutes will also appear in the first Halo game.
Halo: Campaign Evolved does not yet have a release date, but the game is expected to be available sometime this Summer. This release will mark the very first time that Halo has been made available on PlayStation consoles. It will also be available on PC and Xbox from day-one.
KitGuru Says: At this point, I've played The Master Chief Collection to death, so a remake doesn't do a lot for me. However, if these extra campaign missions turn out to be good and expand on the lore, then that could change.
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