Halo: Campaign Evolved Remake Brings Third-Person Perspective and New Mechanics to Classic Shooter
Multiple outlets have published hands-on previews of Halo: Campaign Evolved, a full remake of Halo: Combat Evolved's campaign built in Unreal Engine 5, launching July 28, 2026 on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. The remake introduces significant new features including optional third-person perspective, sprinting, energy sword use, vehicle boarding, 42 gameplay-modifying skulls, four-player co-op, and a Campaign Remix mode, while also adding three new prequel missions. The previews are broadly positive about gameplay and visuals, though technical concerns about PC performance and Unreal Engine 5 image quality artifacts have been raised.
Halo: Campaign Evolved, developed by the newly rebranded Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries), is a ground-up remake of the original 2001 game's single-player campaign, marking the first Halo title built on Unreal Engine 5 and the first to launch on PlayStation 5. Preview builds offered access to two classic missions — 'The Silent Cartographer' and 'Assault on the Control Room' — and reviewers from Polygon, Eurogamer, Digital Foundry, and others came away largely impressed, praising the visual fidelity, faithful atmosphere, and modernized gameplay additions such as sprinting, energy sword use, Wraith hijacking, and an optional third-person camera unlocked via a skull modifier. The game features a series-record 42 skulls and a new Campaign Remix mode that randomizes weapons, enemy behavior, and encounters for replayability, alongside online co-op for up to four players and two-player local splitscreen with cross-platform support. On the technical side, Digital Foundry and others flagged Lumen denoising artifacts, sparkling, and temporal noise on both PC and Xbox Series X, while performance testing showed an RTX 5090 reaching only 90–120 FPS at 1440p Ultra settings, with CPU bottlenecking identified as a notable factor. Premium and Collector's Editions offer up to five days of early access beginning July 23, with the Premium Edition including armor and weapon skins, a digital artbook, and a short story, while the Collector's Edition adds a 12-inch Master Chief statue, replica Cortana chip, and steelbook.
What's missing
No previews had access to the three new prequel missions included in the full release, leaving their quality and integration with the original campaign unassessed. Additionally, Xbox Series S performance was explicitly noted as unavailable for testing by Digital Foundry, and PS5-specific performance data was absent from all previews.
How coverage differed
Eurogamer's reviewer opened by admitting prior skepticism about the remake's legitimacy and framed their preview as a personal reversal, lending it a more dramatic, opinion-forward tone. Wccftech led with a negative performance angle — emphasizing that an RTX 5090 'barely cracks 100 FPS' — while TweakTown and Digital Foundry presented the same data more neutrally, noting smooth performance and CPU-bound behavior as context rather than a failing.
What different sources said
- Inven GlobalCenter
Master Chief Returns to His Roots: Halo: Campaign Evolved
- opus.ingCenter
Watch the Full Demo of Halo: Campaign Evolved’s “Assault on the Control Room”
- WccftechCenter
Halo: Campaign Evolved Stumbles on Unreal Engine 5, as RTX 5090 Barely Cracks 100 FPS at 1440p Ultra
- EurogamerCenter
I went into Halo: Campaign Evolved thinking it didn't need to exist, but after playing two levels I want full remakes of the original trilogy and Reach
- EngadgetCenter
Take a deep look at Halo: Campaign Evolved before it launches next month
- Digital FoundryCenter
Halo: Campaign Evolved Is a Fascinating Preview of the Series' Unreal Engine Future
- PolygonCenter
Halo Campaign Evolved preview: Xbox’s remake feels brand-new after 2 hours
- Pure XboxCenter
Here's What's In The 'Premium Upgrade' Editions For Fable, Gears & Halo On Xbox
- TweakTownCenter
Halo Campaign Evolved hits 120 FPS max at 1440p Ultra on a GeForce RTX 5090
- GamingBoltCenter
Halo: Campaign Evolved Has 42 Skulls and Campaign Remix to Ensure Replayability
Related
Samsung Galaxy S25 and S25 FE See Significant Price Cuts
Samsung's Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 FE smartphones are currently available at notably reduced prices, with the S25 FE dropping $201 (33%) to $449 on Woot for a limited time. The price reductions come amid a competitive smartphone market and ahead of anticipated future Samsung releases. The discounts make previously premium-priced devices more accessible to budget-conscious consumers.
Anthropic Disables Fable 5 and Mythos 5 AI Models Globally After US Government Export Control Order
Anthropic has suspended all public access to its two most advanced AI models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, after the US Commerce Department issued an export control directive ordering the company to block foreign nationals from accessing them on national security grounds. The order came just three days after Fable 5's public launch and reportedly stems from government concerns about a potential jailbreak that could enable the models to assist with cyberattacks, though Anthropic says it received only verbal evidence of a narrow, non-universal vulnerability. The shutdown affects all customers globally — including enterprise users and Anthropic employees — and marks a significant escalation of US efforts to restrict foreign access to advanced AI models themselves, rather than just the chips that power them.
Xbox Free Play Days Offers Three Games Free to Play June 11–14
Microsoft's Xbox Free Play Days program is offering Hell Let Loose, State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition, and Blasphemous 2 at no cost from June 11 to June 14. Hell Let Loose requires an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, or Essential membership, while State of Decay 2 and Blasphemous 2 (via a five-hour timed trial) are accessible to all Xbox console owners. Players who wish to keep any of the games can purchase them at a limited-time discount and retain any achievements earned during the free period.