Halo: Campaign Evolved marks the first time that the Halo franchise has stepped foot into the PlayStation ecosystem, but giving PS5 users the Master Chief Collection instead would have been the ideal way to introduce newcomers to the series. There are a lot of reasons to be excited about Halo: Campaign Evolved. However, it’s only giving players a small dose of what could have been experienced with such a big transition to a new platform.
The Master Chief Collection is one of the best deals possible for those who are interested in checking out Halo for the first time. It’s even just the ideal purchase for longtime fans. Six games in one package is hard to beat, and it would have made Halo on PS5 even more exciting. Campaign Evolved looks great, but six games with dated graphics is still a superior offering than one remake with a fresh coat of paint and updated controls.
Bringing the Master Chief Collection to the PS5 Before Campaign Evolved Would Have Been Better for Not Just Halo Fans, But the Whole Franchise
There has been a lot of discussion on Reddit about whether Campaign Evolved on PS5 is worth being excited about or not. For the most part, PS5 users are thrilled, but plenty have been vocal about the desire to get the Master Chief Collection first. An ongoing sentiment among gamers is that Campaign Evolved feels like the first step in trying to remake a variety of games so more money can be made by selling each one as a separate release.
What’s That Weapon?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
There’s already the issue of Campaign Evolved requiring two PlayStation Plus subscriptions in order to play couch co-op that has people annoyed, so the thought of potentially having to spend more money on every single remake that Halo Studios could have in the works only adds to the frustration. Granted, the standard version of Campaign Evolved is priced at $50, which is easier on the wallet than the standard $70 and the handful of games like GTA 6 and Mario Kart World that cost $80. Having to pay for a game that already exists in a great bundle on Xbox and PC is still understandably frustrating, though.
Every Halo Game Included in the Master Chief Collection
- Halo: Combat Evolved
- Halo 2
- Halo 3
- Halo 3: ODST
- Halo: Reach
- Halo 4
If Xbox really wanted PS5 users to get the ultimate taste of the Halo franchise, it would have made much more sense to just give gamers the first six titles instead of trickling out remakes one at a time. Also, now that Xbox is making changes to its exclusivity plans, Halo‘s time with PlayStation could be incredibly short-lived.
Xbox Is Embracing Major Exclusives Again, Which Could Hurt PlayStation’s Chances of Getting More Halo
The announcement of Campaign Evolved last year marked a major step in Xbox saying goodbye to exclusivity. However, a lot has changed since that announcement. Moving away from exclusives was a decision that was enacted under Phil Spencer’s leadership, but new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has taken over. She’s made a lot of big moves since becoming CEO, with one of the main ones being a newfound investment in keeping certain franchises exclusive to Xbox.
Xbox has already tried to bring one of its other big exclusives to Sony consoles. Gears of War: Reloaded was decently successful on the PS5, but it was a short-lived effort in trying to expand the franchise. Gears of War: E-Day is confirmed to be exclusive to Xbox, despite many assuming that Reloaded meant the prequel was a shoo-in to get a PS5 release.
Console exclusives are important, but this could also throw a wrench in Halo Studios’ remake plans. It’s very possible that the next Halo remake will be made Xbox exclusive again, which would stomp out the franchise’s PlayStation potential before it even really gets started. If Xbox had just greenlit a Master Chief Collection PS5 port, this wouldn’t be a problem.
The Future of the Halo Franchise Is Uncertain in More Ways Than One
-
Image via Halo Studios -
Image via Xbox Game Studios -
Image via Halo Studios
Beyond leaks and rumors that Halo Studios is already working on a Halo 2 and Halo 3 remake, what lies in store for the series down the road is a big mystery. Halo Infinite hasn’t exactly been a high point for the franchise, and it’s now been five years since its release with no follow-up in sight. Fans have been waiting for Halo 7 news for a while now, but Halo Studios has been incredibly quiet about what should be expected.
Xbox’s Recent Restructuring Hopefully Means More Halo Will Come Sooner, Rather Than Later
Xbox is restructuring its operations in a massive way. This has unfortunately resulted in a round of mass layoffs and parting ways with smaller studios like Double Fine, Compulsion Games, Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, and Arkane Lyon. Asha Sharma’s Xbox memo has made it clear that this is an effort to make the company’s operations more efficient, but it’s also a move intended to pivot the majority of attention and resources to Xbox’s biggest franchises.
Campaign Evolved definitely feels like an attempt to charge players per game, but it’s also likely a way for Halo Studios to experiment with and get used to using Unreal Engine 5. Future Halo games are going to be made solely with Unreal Engine 5, so Campaign Evolve is a huge testing ground for the engine change.
If this brings more resources to Halo Studios, it can hopefully do the trick in getting Halo 7 finished faster. The Halo franchise has been caught in a rough patch lately, which means Halo Studios has seriously high expectations to meet in order to turn things around. Now that Halo‘s future with the PS5 is also a giant question mark looming over the series, it’s going to be interesting to see how Campaign Evolved performs on a Sony console and affects future plans. The Master Chief Collection on PS5 felt like the perfect way to give PlayStation fans the essential Halo starter pack, but only offering Campaign Evolved might have backed Halo Studios into a corner where only one remake gets to experience a life on a new console.
- Released
-
July 28, 2026
- Developer(s)
-
Halo Studios
- Publisher(s)
-
Microsoft Studios
- Multiplayer
-
Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
-
Yes – all platforms
