Halo Jumps to PS5: Campaign Evolved Kicks Off a Multi-Platform Future as Devs Signal the End of Xbox Exclusivity
Master Chief was right — we're just getting started.
Well, it finally happened: Halo is headed to PlayStation. Not a spinoff, not some streaming oddity — the real deal. And the way the folks behind the series are talking, this is not a one-off.
So what is actually coming?
Microsoft and the Halo team just unveiled Halo: Campaign Evolved, a remake of the original Halo: Combat Evolved built in Unreal Engine 5. It is launching on PS5 alongside Xbox and PC, making it the first Halo game to land on PlayStation. If you felt a little whiplash seeing the PS5 logo in that reveal, you are not alone — but it tracks with Microsoft’s recent moves putting Forza Horizon 5 and Sea of Thieves on Sony’s console.
The quote that changes everything
At a livestreamed HCS 2025 panel, Halo Studios community director Brian Jarrard made the platform strategy crystal clear:
"Halo is on PlayStation going forward, starting with Halo: Campaign Evolved."
"It’s just gonna mean more Halo for everyone. It’s really a new era."
He doubled down with a post on the official PlayStation Blog (yes, the PlayStation Blog), writing under his longtime handle ske7ch and pulling a line from the Chief himself:
"As the Master Chief once said: 'I think we’re just getting started.'"
Jarrard framed the remake as a fresh entry point and a reintroduction all at once:
"For some of you, it’ll be a chance to revisit a classic in a completely new light. For others, it’ll be the very first time setting foot on the ring and discovering what makes Halo unforgettable."
Why this is not actually shocking
Xbox leadership has been softening the walls around exclusives for a while. Xbox president Sarah Bond recently said the quiet part out loud, calling exclusive games outdated because players, as she put it,
"want to be able to play with your friends anywhere regardless of what they’re on."
That philosophy lines up neatly with Halo showing up on a rival box after 20-plus years of being Xbox’s cornerstone.
What this hints at
Jarrard’s phrasing — "on PlayStation going forward" — sure sounds like more than a single remake. The team would not say what comes next, but the implication is that Halo’s future releases won’t be fenced in by one platform. Also worth noting: the remake has been talked about in the context of 2026, which gives them some runway to line up whatever follows.
How different will this remake be?
Early hands-on chatter is already poking at the big question: is this a bizarro mirror of the original or a respectful rebuild that sets the stage for the series going forward? Using UE5 suggests a modern spin, but the pitch is clearly nostalgia-meets-new-audience.
- Title: Halo: Campaign Evolved (a remake of Halo: Combat Evolved)
- Platforms: PS5, Xbox, and PC
- Engine: Unreal Engine 5
- Timing: Talk around a 2026 window for the remake
- First Halo game on PlayStation
- Context: Follows Xbox bringing Forza Horizon 5 and Sea of Thieves to PS5
- Key statement: "Halo is on PlayStation going forward, starting with Halo: Campaign Evolved."
- Xbox leadership stance: Exclusives are increasingly seen as outdated; cross-platform play is the priority
The bottom line
The Master Chief crossing the aisle is a big symbolic shift, but it feels less like a betrayal of the brand and more like Microsoft finally aligning the franchise with how people actually play now. If you grew up with Halo on Xbox, you still get it there. If you have a PS5, you finally get in. And if Jarrard’s tease holds, Halo’s platform future just got a lot wider.