Review

Halo: Campaign Evolved

A full Unreal Engine 5 rebuild of the original 2001 Halo campaign from Halo Studios, with three new prequel missions starring the Master Chief and Sgt. Johnson, now playable on PlayStation for the first time. Is it your kind of game?

FPS remakeCampaign co-opSci-fi shooterXboxPCPlayStation

Games like Halo: Campaign Evolved

7/10

Game Avant verdict

A gorgeous, faithful rebuild of a landmark shooter with a standout prequel chapter, dragged down by dated level design, clumsy vehicles and a troubled launch.

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By GameAvant · Published Oct 12, 2026 · Updated Oct 12, 2026 · 12 min read

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IGDB

79%

36 ratings

Steam:

61%

12,647 reviews

Fits you if

you want the original Halo story in modern clothes, you have friends for online co-op, or you are curious about the series and want a short, self-contained campaign to start with.

Skip it if

you expect a modern reinvention of the level design, you want competitive multiplayer, or you are unwilling to deal with required online sign-in and possible launch-era bugs.

Availability

Where to play

Steam

$39.99

Buy

Facts

Platforms: Xbox · PC · PlayStation
Release date: July 28, 2026
Length: About 11 hours
Difficulty: 3/5 (estimated)
Genres: Shooter · Adventure
Themes: Action · Science fiction · Warfare
Perspective: First person · Third person
Modes: Online up to 4 · Couch co-op up to 4
Languages: 3 languages
Text in your language: Yes
Steam Deck: Verified
Microtransactions: None

More about Halo: Campaign Evolved

Halo: Campaign Evolved takes the single campaign most responsible for launching an entire console generation and rebuilds it, almost two and a half decades later, for current hardware. Halo Studios, the team formerly known as 343 Industries, moved the original 2001 campaign to Unreal Engine 5, redid every cutscene, and added three entirely new prequel missions starring the Master Chief and Sgt. Johnson that were never part of the original release. It arrived on 28 July 2026 for Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PlayStation 5, which marks the first time the series' founding story has ever been playable on a Sony console, a notable milestone for a franchise that spent two decades tied exclusively to Xbox. Visually, this is an unambiguous success. The jump to Unreal Engine 5 gives the Halo ringworld a scale and lighting quality the original hardware could never have rendered, and the new cutscenes are built with the same care rather than treated as an afterthought bolted onto old geography. The three new prequel missions are the clearest evidence of what the studio can do when it is not constrained by matching 2001-era level layouts; they are widely considered the highlight of the package, giving the Chief and Johnson material that genuinely expands the story rather than just padding the runtime before the familiar campaign begins. Where the remake runs into trouble is everywhere the original campaign's bones are still showing through the new coat of paint. Level design choices that felt reasonable in 2001, long vehicle sections with floaty handling, repetitive room layouts in the back half of the campaign, and pacing decisions built around a much shorter expected playtime than modern shooters assume, are rebuilt faithfully rather than modernized, which means some of the same friction players remember from the original resurfaces here largely untouched. A rocky launch compounded the issue, with technical problems reported widely enough that they shaped a meaningful share of the game's early reception regardless of how the campaign itself played once things stabilized. Taken as a whole, this is a faithful, visually striking remake rather than a reinvention, and it is worth being clear-eyed about which of those two things you are buying. Players returning to relive the original story, or newcomers curious what the series' origin actually looked like, will find a genuinely gorgeous, respectfully handled rebuild with one standout new chapter worth the price on its own. Players hoping two and a half decades of hindsight would smooth out the original's dated structure will find those rough edges rebuilt right alongside everything else, present and accounted for rather than quietly fixed.

The thing you'll love. Or hate.

Faithful over modern

Prequel added on top

Online-first design

Not quite for you?

Three alternatives, one line each on why.

Shorter

Similar, but noticeably shorter.

With co-op

Similar, but playable together.

Cheaper or free

Similar, for less money.

Frequently asked questions

How long is Halo: Campaign Evolved?: About 11 hours to finish the main story.
Which platforms is Halo: Campaign Evolved on?: Halo: Campaign Evolved is available on Xbox · PC · PlayStation.
Does Halo: Campaign Evolved have co-op?: Yes — Online up to 4 · Couch co-op up to 4.
Does Halo: Campaign Evolved run on Steam Deck?: Verified
What does Halo: Campaign Evolved cost?: $39.99 on Steam.