Halo: Combat Evolved Gets an Oblivion-Style Makeover Powered by Virtuos' Hybrid Engine

Halo: Combat Evolved might be getting the kind of do-over fans have begged for since we all LAN-partied our way through Blood Gulch. Not a quick polish. A full remake. Here is what people in the know say is happening, why the tech choice is interesting, and when we might actually see it.

The rumor, in plain English

• A full Halo: Combat Evolved remake is reportedly in development as the series nears its 25th anniversary.
• Abstraction, a Dutch studio now under Virtuos, is said to be co-developing alongside Halo Studios. Abstraction was acquired by Virtuos in late 2024.
• Insider/content creator MrRebs is the one putting this out there; XboxEra says they independently verified the partnership and the technical approach.
• Instead of rebuilding everything in Unreal Engine 5, the plan is a hybrid: combine Bungie’s classic Blam under-the-hood feel with modern UE5 features. The idea is to keep Halo’s exact movement, aiming, and combat flow while upgrading visuals and tech.
• That hybrid approach mirrors what Virtuos did on its Oblivion remaster project: preserve the original game’s physics and systems, then bolt on modern graphics.
• On the social-chatter side, Rino (@RinoTheBouncer) summarized the same beats: hybrid engine like Oblivion, Virtuos involvement, and a possible first look tied to an upcoming Halo event.
• A Reddit post from u/Moth_LovesLamp in GamingLeaksAndRumours also claimed the remake pairs Halo Studios with Abstraction/Virtuos on a hybrid engine with UE5.

Why the engine talk matters (and why it is inside baseball)

This is where it gets nerdy but important. Plenty of modern remakes just port the whole thing to UE5 and call it a day. That can look great but sometimes the feel changes in tiny ways that Halo fans will absolutely notice. The rumor here says they want to preserve Halo’s exact moment-to-moment rhythm: weapon balance, enemy AI behavior, and the sacred golden triangle of guns, grenades, and melee. If they are literally keeping the original Blam feel and grafting next-gen tech on top, that is the right kind of obsessive for Halo.

So when would we see it?

The timing lines up a little too perfectly. Halo Studios has a showcase panel at the Halo World Championship in Seattle on October 24, 2025, and they have already promised this:

"a deep dive" into the future of the franchise

Given the new round of leaks, that could be where the remake gets revealed. No guarantees, but if you are reading the tea leaves, October 24 is circled in red ink.

Why now?

Halo: Combat Evolved launched in 2001, which means the 25th anniversary is coming up. The most recent full revisit was the 2011 Anniversary remaster, and that remaster is now old enough to rent a car. After years of fans asking for the series to go back to its roots (and after Halo Infinite’s long content drought), a from-the-ground-up remake of the original would be a clean way to reset the vibe and onboard new players without losing what made Halo, Halo.

Reality check

All of this is still rumor territory, even with XboxEra backing up parts of it. But the pieces make sense: Virtuos and Abstraction have the remaster chops, the hybrid-engine strategy would calm the diehards, and the October 24 event is a natural stage for a reveal. If it is real and they nail the feel, this could be the rare remake that actually bridges nostalgia and 2025 expectations instead of just photocopying the past with shinier lighting.

Curious where you land: cautiously hyped, or waiting until you see a Needler shot and a Grunt panic for real?