Say Goodbye to Slayer? Halo Combat Evolved Remake Could Drop Multiplayer Altogether

Halo rumor mill time: the thing everyone thinks is about to be announced at the Halo World Championship today? Sounds like a Halo: Combat Evolved remake that is single-player only. If you were holding out for classic CE multiplayer with shiny new visuals… maybe not this round.

The quick version

• Multiple insiders, including Jeff Grubb and Nate the Hate, have been signaling that today’s reveal is a Halo: Combat Evolved remake.
• The project is reportedly campaign-only and rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5 with modern gameplay tweaks like sprinting and updated combat.
• This is pitched more like a full remake (think Capcom’s Resident Evil redos) than a remaster like 2011’s Halo: CE Anniversary.
• Abstraction is said to be co-developing; they previously helped bring The Master Chief Collection to PC.
• A community post from Klobrille flagged a 'Halo Studios' update for today, Friday, at 2:00 PM PT during the Halo World Championship showcase.
• Separate reports (Rebs Gaming, Halo Leaks) point to a second, multiplayer-only Halo project designed as a live-service game in the Fortnite/Warzone lane.
• As of October 24, 2025, Microsoft still hasn’t officially confirmed any of this.

So, campaign now, multiplayer later?

The current chatter says the remake focuses entirely on a new single-player version of Combat Evolved built in UE5. Beyond the tech change, the big hook is gameplay that isn’t frozen in 2001: sprint, more fluid encounters, that sort of modernization. If true, it’s not a toggle-and-filter job like Anniversary; it’s a rebuild.

On the flipside, the multiplayer nostalgia trip does not appear to be bundled with it. Reaction online has been… split. Some fans want the classic CE MP back in a big way, others think a one-off playlist would pop for a week and then vanish.

"we don’t get to experience multiplayer yet"
— @vaughnXvon

The separate multiplayer thing

Here’s where it gets a little inside-the-dev-roadmap: Rebs Gaming and Halo Leaks both say the studio is also building a second, standalone multiplayer-only title. The comparison points getting thrown around are Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone, which tells you the goal — a persistent live-service home for Halo’s competitive side. One creator summed up the mood by saying Halo absolutely has the chops to pull that off.

Why split the franchise?

It actually tracks. Halo Infinite tried to be the everything app for Halo and struggled to keep both pillars equally healthy. Spinning campaign and multiplayer into separate products — one cinematic, one service-based — is a cleaner pitch. If the CE remake lands, you get a prestige story release. Meanwhile, the MP team can chase the forever-game audience without being chained to a new campaign beat.

Timing check

It’s Friday, October 24, 2025. The Halo World Championship showcase is set for 2:00 PM PT. Microsoft hasn’t confirmed the remake (or the standalone MP project) yet, but if anything’s happening, we should know very soon.

Would you actually buy a campaign-only Halo: CE remake, or is it multiplayer-or-bust for you?