Microsoft just announced the next Halo game. As rumors suggested, it's a remake of the game that started it all for the franchise. Titled Halo: Campaign Evolved, it's an Unreal Engine 5 recreation of the campaign from Halo: Combat Evolved, which was the first game in the series and a launch title for the original Xbox.

Notably, it's not just coming to Xbox Series X|S and PC when it launches next year, but PS5 as well. Halo Studios revealed this game during the Halo Championship Series, which is taking place in Seattle this weekend.

What can you expect from Halo: Campaign Evolved

Halo: Combat Evolved, remade in Unreal Engine 5

Several videos and an Xbox Wire article posted during the Halo Championship Series on Friday afternoon revealed more about what we should expect from the first project under the Halo Studios banner. As an Unreal Engine remake, you can expect this game to have a 4K resolution and refreshed assets and animations. It will also feature remastered music and new voice lines.

Those new lines are possible in part because Halo: Campaign Evolved will include three new campaign missions that serve as a prequel to the new story. While none of Halo: Combat Evolved's competitive multiplayer modes will be included in this remake, it will feature four-player co-op in every mission.

On the gameplay front, there are some smaller tweaks to look forward to. Weapons like the Energy Sword, Battle Rifle, and Needle Rifle will now be in this game, as will features like being able to hijack vehicles. A "Skulls" system will also allow players to add gameplay modifiers and increase Halo: Campaign Evolved's difficulty.

If you want a better idea of what to expect from this remake, a 13-minute video from one of its missions has been released. It'll launch sometime in 2026 and be part of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate catalog from launch. That said, this will also be the first-ever Halo game released on PS5. I know I'll be checking out the game on that platform, like I did with Gears of War: Reloaded.

While Halo: Combat Evolved was remade for Xbox 360 years ago, a current-gen remake felt like it was long overdue, since we're well past the glory days of Halo as an Xbox franchise. After Bungie's Halo 3 and Halo: Reach, the series never found its footing under 343 Industries. While Halo 4, Halo 5: Guardians, and Halo Infinite all attracted impressive player bases, each is controversial for different reasons.

Last year, 343 Industries announced it'd rebrand as Halo Studios, signaling that it wanted a fresh start for the franchise. Halo: Campaign Evolved clearly seems to be the product they want to kickstart this new era for Halo. While I'm not sure if it will do just that, I know I'll certainly be checking it out when it launches sometime next year, as having the opportunity to play a Halo game on PS5 is too novel to pass up.