While Halo Studios is rebuilding and expanding the story of Master Chief on Installation 04, as the name suggests, Halo: Campaign Evolved does not feature any player-vs-player multiplayer.
In a group interview at Halo Studios, I asked the developers why the team decided to only focus on the campaign for this remake. They responded by explaining the studio wants something that stands next to the original game, expanding the co-op functionality and making this one thing as good as it can be.
"We're not trying to replace what is a masterpiece in the original. We're trying to basically make something that stands kind of shoulder to shoulder with it, using new tools, new energy, to get a little bit of a fresh take on some things, but honoring the legacy," says executive producer Damon Conn, who notes that having four-player online campaign co-op with cross-play and cross-progression all for the first time was extremely important to get right.
"So, yes, it's a campaign experience, but it's not only a single-player experience. And Halo has been always about reconnecting, a strong sense of community, and then also telling those stories and sharing those experiences together. And we believe that is where, you know, we're really going to be able to bring people together with this new release," Conn added.
An understandable, if disappointing decision
While I know many players will be disappointed at the lack of multiplayer, I do somewhat get it. The team likely wants to have a new audience hooked on the feel of Halo, making them more eager to jump into the next mainline game.
That means the team can get up to speed using Unreal Engine 5 without having to worry about supporting a multiplayer title at the same time just yet.
This does raise an interesting question about future titles outside of whatever "Halo 7" ends up being. If Halo: Campaign Evolved is a success, then surely Halo 2 and Halo 3 warrant revisiting?
After all, Halo 2 may have gotten the Anniversary treatment that Combat Evolved received, but Halo 3 has never never been remastered. If the team goes that route, then to me, dropping the multiplayer won't be as easy.
Halo: Combat Evolved LAN tournaments were formative for the memories of many players, but the launch of Xbox Live and the multiplayer suits for Halo 2 and Halo 3 were on a completely different level. Perhaps some kind of combined multiplayer for both games being remade in one package?
I'm speculating here, but it doesn't seem impossible. In any case, all of that would be years away, if indeed it pans out at all.
One way or another, I just hope we aren't waiting too long for more Halo multiplayer. Post-launch support was fumbled for a long time, but Halo Infinite played amazingly well, and the game has received some truly fantastic updates over the last year and half.
I would love to see an era of Halo multiplayer captivating the world again, something that seems just a hair more possible since whatever comes next will be available across all platforms.
In the meantime, if you haven't read my hands-on preview of Halo: Campaign Evolved, be sure to check it out. I was skeptical, but this remake seems to be addressing my concerns well.
Halo: Campaign Evolved is slated to launch at some point in 2026 on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC (Steam and Xbox on PC), and PlayStation 5. Like all Xbox first-party games, it’ll also be available in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass at launch.
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