Halo 2026 Remake Face-Off: Campaign Evolved vs Combat Evolved — What’s Actually New

Halo: Campaign Evolved is set to land in 2026, a ground-up Unreal Engine 5 remake of the original Combat Evolved campaign that aims to reforge the classic for a new generation. Twenty-five years after Halo: Combat Evolved reshaped gaming, Halo Studios is ready to reveal what’s changed on the ringworld—and what still hits just as hard.

Halo is doing the unthinkable and the extremely predictable at the same time: going back to where it all started, and putting it on every box in your living room. The full campaign remake is real, it is big, and yes, it is coming to PlayStation. Here is what Halo: Campaign Evolved actually is and what it is not.

So what is this remake, exactly?

Halo: Campaign Evolved is a top-to-bottom rebuild of the original Combat Evolved campaign in Unreal Engine 5, landing in 2026. Halo Studios says the new tech sits on top of the original systems and code so it still plays like Halo, not a Halo-flavored shooter. Think 4K visuals, brand-new cinematics, and a fully remastered soundtrack, but with that familiar weight and timing baked in.

Game Director Greg Hermann (via Xbox) frames it this way: the team layered UE5 bells and whistles onto the classic foundation to keep the combat feel intact. The goal is old-school muscle memory, new-school presentation.

What is actually new?

It is not just a visual facelift. They have pulled in mechanics and enemies from later games, reworked pain-point levels, and added more ways to mess with the sandbox. Also, co-op got a serious upgrade. Here is the short version:

• Sprint and ADS: You can sprint and aim down sights with every weapon. Hate sprint? Toggle it off and live your truth.
• Vehicle hijacking: The Halo 2 move is back. You (and Elites) can yank enemies out of their rides. The Covenant Wraith is now fully pilotable.
• Expanded arsenal: Nine extra weapons from across the series join the party, including Energy Sword, Battle Rifle, Needle Rifle, and Sentinel Beam.
• Smarter enemies: AI behaves more like the later games. Hunters no longer melt from a single back shot. The Flood now includes the nasty Pure Forms from Halo 3.
• More skulls than ever: The largest set of campaign modifiers in the franchise. Yes, Grunt Birthday Party is back. Confetti forever.
• Co-op overhauled: Four-player online co-op with full cross-play and cross-progression across Xbox, PC, and PlayStation, plus classic two-player couch co-op. The Warthog even squeezes in a fourth seat now.
• Additional missions: The campaign includes new content on top of the original structure.
• No competitive multiplayer: This package is campaign-focused. Do not expect a versus suite here.

Why remake Combat Evolved again?

It has been nearly 25 years since CE basically sold the first Xbox by itself. Halo Studios wants to restart the story clean and make it easy for new players to jump in from square one, then build forward from there. The overall campaign structure sticks close to the original, but they are not afraid to fix the rough stuff.

"We wanted to start where it all began, with the original campaign that defined Halo... Starting here means people that have never played the game before will be able to understand the story from the very beginning." - Executive Producer Damon Conn, via Xbox

Case in point: The Library. Infamous then, dreaded now. It has been reworked with clearer navigation, better wayfinding, and fresh 343 Guilty Spark lines to keep you oriented and push the story forward instead of just pushing Flood into your face.

The platform surprise (and why it matters)

For the first time ever, Halo is coming to PlayStation. Campaign Evolved will ship on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and PlayStation 5. It is part of Microsoft loosening the gates and sending its heavy hitters to other platforms, right alongside former Xbox-only names like Forza Horizon and Gears of War.

Release window, modes, and how you can play

Halo: Campaign Evolved launches in 2026 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Steam, and PlayStation 5. It will be available day one with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Cross-play and cross-progression are in for co-op across all platforms, so you can mix and match systems without losing progress. Halo Studios first talked through the project in a roundtable reveal on October 24, 2025, and the messaging has been consistent: campaign first, feel intact, scope bigger.

Bottom line

This is Halo: CE reimagined for modern hardware with new systems, smarter enemies, extra content, and a heavy co-op focus, while deliberately skipping competitive multiplayer. The nostalgia play is strong, the quality-of-life fixes are overdue, and the PS5 release is the headline that will make a lot of people do a double take.