Entertainment
‘Halo’ Officially Returns Next Month With a Highly Anticipated New Release
For the longest time, Halo existed as Xbox‘s killer app that almost single-handedly made the argument to go with green instead of blue. In its war with Sony, from the PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox console to the modern PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, only one side had Master Chief and the epic sci-fi military FPS action he brought with him, which completely redefined what a shooter with online multiplayer could be on consoles. Since the release of Halo: Combat Evolved in 2001, the series has racked up over 81 million copies sold and become a gaming icon to the point that John-117 is forever associated with Microsoft and their gaming line. Recent years have been rockier for both the franchise and its console, though, with Halo Infinite having a less-than-stellar release and concluding “major” updates back in November despite a ten-year plan.
Still, the Halo brand has continued to expand. Novels have helped flesh out the war-torn world, while the Paramount+ series attempted to capture the sheer sci-fi scale of Master Chief and his fellow Spartans’ fight to less-than-stellar results. The Chief has even leaped into Fortnite, and Helldivers 2 introduced a collaboration tied to Halo: ODST and its titular shock troopers. A full-fledged Halo game releasing on their rivals’ system once seemed like an impossibility, but between Xbox’s increasing willingness to branch out and the port of the original Gears of War to Sony’s console last year, it began to feel like an inevitability. Sure enough, the moment finally arrived when a modern remake of the first game, Halo: Campaign Evolved, was unveiled from Halo Studios back in October.
The newest Halo will be the first time the franchise has been available to play on a PlayStation, and it won’t even be a timed exclusive. It’s due to release on all modern platforms, save for the Nintendo Switch 2, just over one month from now on July 28, but those who pay extra for either the Premium Edition or Collector’s Edition will get five days of early access starting on July 23. Described as “a faithful yet modernized remake of Halo: Combat Evolved‘s campaign” in Unreal Engine 5, the game will offer players on both sides of the aisle, and PC, the chance to re-experience Master Chief’s original battle with the genocidal alien military alliance of the Covenant after crash-landing on the Halo ring-world. The option to play through the campaign cooperatively is back and expanded, now allowing play with up to four players online. Weapons, mechanics, and enemies from newer entries will be folded into the original missions to refresh the experience, alongside a staggering 42 skulls to modify gameplay. The only thing missing, as the title implies, is online PVP multiplayer.
‘Halo: Campaign Evolved’ Expands the Story With a Prequel
The biggest change from Combat Evolved to Campaign Evolved content-wise is the addition of three new missions in an arc called Operation Meteorite, set before the first time players are introduced to Master Chief in-game. While Halo: Reach ventured earlier in the series timeline to show humanity’s greatest defeat leading into the events of Combat Evolved, John’s history is relatively unexplored in the games themselves. Taking place one year earlier in 2551, the missions primarily focus on the relationship between the Chief and one of his closest allies throughout the original Halo trilogy and a longtime fan-favorite, Sgt. Avery Johnson, during a mission to retrieve data on the location of the Covenant home world. It’ll be packed with new environments and, as shown in preview footage, even a massive space battle.
Senior franchise story lead Jeff Easterling detailed to GameInformer in an extended preview how Operation Meteorite was designed to retrofit the Chief and Johnson’sdynamic into the original game, with help from veteran Halo novelist Troy Denning. The goal was to make it feel natural to the story of Combat Evolved while also demonstrating a clear connection to what comes next in Halo 2 and 3.
“A couple of Troy’s most popular [novels] were dealing with the early dynamics of the relationship of Sgt. Johnson and The Chief. We always felt like, Sgt. Johnson, we want to spend more time with him, and in the original [Combat Evolved], I think people forget that Sgt. Johnson actually doesn’t play a huge role. It really is only in Halo 2 and 3 where he becomes the Johnson that we know in our minds, and we try to ‘retro’ that into CE, but we’ve done some interesting things with Campaign Evolved and these three missions being paramount to elevating Johnson into the Johnson that we remember. Troy was an easy pick to be involved with that.”
Halo: Campaign Evolved is available to pre-order now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC ahead of release on July 28. Check out the cinematic story trailer in the player above.
- Release Date
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2022 – 2024
- Network
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Paramount+
- Showrunner
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Kyle Killen
- Directors
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Jonathan Liebesman, Craig Zisk, Dennie Gordon, Roel Reiné, Debs Paterson
- Writers
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Justine Juel Gillmer
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