Microsoft's big Xbox Games Showcase was this weekend's largest gaming presentation, with the show following Friday's Summer Game Fest conference with two hours of trailers, reveals, and announcements for games and hardware (the Xbox Ally handheld, specifically) coming to Xbox and PC (and other platforms, in some cases).
The conference was capped off by a huge The Outer Worlds 2 Direct from Obsidian that also included Grounded 2 details, but before it began, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer came on stream to close out the main show with a talk about the future of the Xbox brand and its 25th anniversary in 2026. And when he did, he may have teased the return of its flagship franchise: Halo.
"I'm excited to share that players will get to celebrate 25 years of Xbox with a new Fable, the Next Forza, Gears of War E-Day, and the return of a classic that's been with us since the beginning," he said. He then went on to introduce Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, but I couldn't care less. I was still focused on those last few words.
When thinking of "a classic that's been with us since the beginning," Halo is the only series that comes to my mind. Indeed, 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved famously launched right alongside the original Xbox console, and Bungie's hit was Microsoft's biggest system seller for several years. Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo: Reach were also titles core to the success of Xbox LIVE and the Xbox 360.
The franchise's popularity waned in the 2010s as Halo shifted hands, and despite tons of improvements and additions that came after launch, 2021's Halo Infinite ultimately failed to attract the kind of live-service audience that Microsoft and 343 Industries — now rebranded as Halo Studios — was hoping for. Late last year, though, it was confirmed that Halo is moving to Unreal Engine 5 and that the developers were ramping up hiring for several in-progress projects.
At the time, a tech demo called Project Foundry was shown that showcased several Halo environments and characters rendered in Unreal Engine 5 — including several scenes of series protagonist Master Chief in his classic Halo: Combat Evolved armor. That led to a lot of speculation that we might see a Halo: Combat Evolved remake of some sort that would be entirely separate from the Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary remaster developed by Halo Studios in partnership with Saber Interactive and Certain Affinity.
- DEAL: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 1-month memberships are $17.69 at CDKeys, giving you access to Microsoft's service for a cool discount
It's entirely possible that this is precisely what Phil Spencer was teasing during the Xbox Games Showcase, though it could also be an entirely different Halo experience, too. My gut tells me it's probably not a full-fledged sequel to Halo Infinite, but hey, it's been five years since that game's release, and I'm down to be pleasantly surprised.
If it is, though, I want it to release with a complete suite of content at launch. Both Halo 5: Guardians and Halo Infinite launched with paltry offerings, and I firmly believe that's a big reason why both games didn't have the legs they could have had.
Regardless, I'm glad it sounds like we're getting a new Halo game on Xbox, PC, and Xbox Game Pass next year — and as someone who's been a longtime fan of the franchise since my childhood, I really hope Microsoft, Xbox, and Halo Studios can finally deliver a clean and major win with it. Only time will tell, but I'm choosing to be optimistic.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
