Some of the original developers of Halo have criticised the upcoming remake of Combat Evolved, claiming it’s “slicker but less interesting”.
The original Halo was developed by Bungie and released in 2001 as an Xbox exclusive. After a few remasters, Halo: Combat Evolved has now been completely remade by Halo Studios as the start of a “new chapter” for the franchise.
The “modern evolution” of Halo: Combat Evolved has been “thoughtfully brought to life” in Unreal Engine 5 with new 4K visuals, updated animations, remastered music and re-recorded voice lines. Halo Studios is also bringing in “a roster of beloved weapons and vehicles from later Halo titles, and adding three new bonus campaign missions, all designed to expand and celebrate the adventure that started it all.”
Halo Studios has also shared a 13-minute gameplay demo to showcase Campaign Evolved, which is due out in 2026 for Xbox, PC and, for the first time in the series’ 24-year history, PlayStation.
Some of the original developers aren’t impressed by what they’ve seen of the remake though. “I made it right and they are breaking it for no reason,” wrote level designer Jaime Griesemer on X after taking issue with how much freedom the Warthog vehicles seemingly have in Halo: Campaign Evolved.
“I think there are dozens of changes (reload speeds, no health packs, falling damage, etc) that make the game ‘slicker’ but ultimately less interesting. Too many to be an accident. Devs aren’t allowed to make interesting choices once the budget gets that big,” he added.
Recommended
His remarks kickstarted a huge debate on social media about the mechanics of Halo. ”I don’t think anyone should really care what I think of current day Halo. They aren’t FOR me,” he explained. “I just know how rare and valuable a good game mechanic or mission setup is, so I get aggravated when something that is proven and works gets degraded for no reason. There’s plenty of ways to improve Halo 1 without breaking it.”
My honest impression of seeing the new Halo Campaign Evolved is this:
I absolutely love where this is going. The game looks and feels genuine. It’s gorgeous in a way I wish we could have built it originally back in 2001.
It warms my heart to see Halo CE like this. pic.twitter.com/OXFK8rc719
— Marcus Lehto (@game_fabricator) October 26, 2025
However, Halo co-creator and Master Chief designer Marcus Lehto was far more positive about the changes. “My honest impression of seeing the new Halo: Campaign Evolved is this: I absolutely love where this is going,” he wrote on X. “The game looks and feels genuine. It’s gorgeous in a way I wish we could have built it originally back in 2001. It warms my heart to see Halo CE like this.”
After it was announced Halo would be coming to PlayStation, GameStop shared a tongue-in-cheek statement declaring the “end of the console wars”. However The White House quickly jumped on the joke with a bizarre AI image of Donald Trump dressed up as Master Chief. Later, The Department Of Homeland Security caused outrage by sharing a “fascist” advert that used Halo to promote ICE, the US government agency responsible for the widespread detention and deportation of immigrants.
In other news, as part of the season one update Battlefield 6 players can listen to a new in-game radio station featuring the music of Limp Bizkit, Bob Dylan and Dr. Dre.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.