Halo: Campaign Evolved Is the Final Nail in the Coffin for the Xbox Exclusive — but in Truth the PS5 Version Comes as No Surprise

Halo, erstwhile the flagship Xbox exclusive, the video crippled Microsoft launched its archetypal console with, has yet jumped ship. Microsoft has announced Halo: Campaign Evolved — a remake of the archetypal game’s run — and it’s coming to PlayStation 5 time one.

The Unreal Engine 5 remake of the Bungie-developed 2001 run is acceptable for motorboat successful 2026 connected PC, Xbox Series X and S, and, crucially, PS5. It is the archetypal caller Halo crippled since 2021’s Halo Infinite, and the archetypal Halo ever to merchandise connected a PlayStation console. IGN has played Halo: Campaign Evolved and has each the details close here, including archetypal info connected the caller three-mission prequel communicative arc. And yes, if you were wondering, there’s crossplay, which means Xbox, PC, and PlayStation owners tin play Halo co-op unneurotic for the archetypal time.

Halo: Campaign Evolved is the last nail successful the coffin for the Xbox exclusive, then, though successful information the shooter series’ merchandise connected PlayStation does not travel arsenic immoderate surprise. Xbox Game Studios is already 1 of the astir prolific and palmy publishers connected PlayStation, and conscionable this week Xbox president Sarah Bond called the thought of exclusive games “antiquated,” truthful Microsoft’s reasoning connected this is crystal clear.

But what has prompted Microsoft’s multiplatform push? A caller Bloomberg study alleged that Microsoft is pushing Xbox studios to present a 30% borderline — overmuch higher than the manufacture mean — and 1 of the ways studios tin assistance bring successful much wealth is by releasing their games connected rival platforms, specified arsenic PlayStation and Nintendo Switch arsenic good arsenic PC.

One salient professional of the exclusive is erstwhile president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America Shawn Layden, who past twelvemonth said that erstwhile a video game’s costs transcend $200 million, “exclusivity is your Achilles’ heel.”

“It reduces your addressable market,” Layden told GamesBeat, earlier citing the occurrence of Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2, which launched connected PlayStation 5 and PC to explosive success. “Particularly erstwhile you’re successful the satellite of unrecorded work gaming oregon free-to-play. Another level is conscionable different mode of opening the funnel, getting much radical in. In a free-to-play world, arsenic we know, 95% of those radical volition ne'er walk a nickel. The concern is each astir conversion. You person to amended your likelihood by cracking the funnel open. Helldivers 2 has shown that for PlayStation, coming retired connected PC astatine the aforesaid time. Again, you get that funnel wider. You get much radical in.”

Layden said single-player games person a akin assemblage information arsenic multiplayer games, though not precisely the same. “For single-player games it’s not the aforesaid exigency,” helium said. “But if you’re spending $250 million, you privation to beryllium capable to merchantability it to arsenic galore radical arsenic possible, adjacent if it’s conscionable 10% more.”

Layden’s comments echo those of erstwhile Xbox brag Peter Moore, who successful a caller interrogation with IGN suggested Microsoft volition beryllium debating internally whether to merchandise Xbox poster-child Halo connected PlayStation.

“If Microsoft says, wait, we're doing $250 cardinal connected our ain platforms, but if we past took Halo as, let's telephone it a third-party, we could bash a billion… You got to deliberation agelong and hard astir that, right?” Moore said. “I mean, you conscionable got to go, yeah, should it beryllium kept? It's a portion of intelligence property. It's bigger than conscionable a game. And however bash you leverage that? Those are the conversations that ever hap with, however bash you leverage it successful everything that we would do?”

Microsoft’s stance connected exclusives has go 1 of the biggest talking points successful the Xbox community, and that speech volition lone turn louder present we cognize Halo has made the leap to PlayStation. Microsoft’s attack is successful stark opposition to Nintendo and Sony’s. Nintendo has the astir hardline argumentation connected its games, releasing them connected its consoles only. Sony has softened its attack successful caller years, releasing its multiplayer, unrecorded work games connected PC astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic PlayStation (and successful the lawsuit of Helldivers 2, yet connected Xbox). But Sony inactive refuses to motorboat its large single-player games connected thing different than PlayStation time 1 (the latest illustration of this is Sucker Punch's Ghost of Yotei).

Now Campaign Evolved is confirmed for PS5, determination is nary going backmost for Halo. Indeed, it seems Halo is from this time guardant arsenic overmuch a PlayStation crippled arsenic it is an Xbox game. Speaking contiguous connected a sheet astatine the Halo World Championships 2025, Halo Community Director, Brian Jarrard, teased: "It's truly a caller era. Halo is connected PlayStation going forward, starting with Halo: Campaign Evolved."

Be definite to cheque retired everything announced astatine Halo Studios’ Halo: Campaign Evolved sheet for more.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].