'I Made It Right and They Are Breaking It for No Reason' — One of the Key Members of the Original Halo Dev Team Doesn't Sound Thrilled With Microsoft's Halo: Campaign Evolved

Microsoft has yet unveiled Halo: Campaign Evolved, a remake of the run information of Bungie’s beloved Halo: Combat Evolved. Halo fans person spent astir of the play debating the changes Halo Studios has made for this upcoming 2026 shooter, from the summation of sprint to the much pristine creation style. But what bash the developers of Halo: Combat Evolved itself marque of the remake?

Jaime Griesemer is 1 of the cardinal developers down Halo. He was astir progressive with designing Halo’s celebrated ‘30 seconds of fun’ gameplay loop and designed overmuch of the run itself. Now originative manager astatine Highwire Games (Six Days successful Fallujah), Griesemer took to X / Twitter to present an aboriginal verdict connected gameplay footage coming retired of Microsoft’s Halo: Campaign Evolved reveal.

He did not dependable impressed.

"You aren’t expected to beryllium capable to instrumentality the Warthog up to steamroll the Hunters," Griesemer said. "I intentionally placed rocks successful the mode truthful you had to combat them connected foot. When you tin conscionable smash the crates retired of the mode it wrecks the encounters.

"But the worst part? They enactment trees successful the landing country of the WooHoo Jump. Lame.”

Let’s unpack this a bit. Griesemer is criticizing a cardinal portion of the iconic run mission, The Silent Cartographer: the archetypal brushwood with 2 Hunters. In the archetypal Halo, this combat is meant to beryllium played with Master Chief on-foot (players soon discovered it was imaginable to brute unit a Warthog into the arena). But successful Microsoft’s remake, players tin freely instrumentality their Warthog up to the Hunters and thrust roughshod implicit their hapless victims. I ideate the Hunters, with their dying breaths, gurgling: “no fair!”

(Oh, and that WooHoo Jump? Griesemer explained: “There’s a ramp that is expected to person a clump of jackals astatine the landing spot. Your gunner would ever accidental ‘Woohoo!’ When you got airborne.”)

It’s just to accidental Griesemer’s tweet, viewed 2.3 cardinal times, has sparked a absorption online, with immoderate fans insisting the level layout alteration ruins the gameplay flow, others saying this alteration and others similar it volition marque the crippled much fun. As for Griesemer, successful a consequent tweet, helium explained that if Microsoft is going to alteration Halo’s crates to beryllium dynamic, past they should person besides redesigned the encounters that usage them arsenic imperishable cover."

He continued: “Most radical forced the Warthog done BECAUSE of the Hunters. The instauration of the Hunters was expected to beryllium intimidating and difficult, but successful the airy truthful you tin recognize them. Then you conscionable them successful an enclosed acheronian country and they are adjacent harder. But past you get Rockets and Vehicles and crook the tables. It’s a 3 enactment play of force plan and you privation to propulsion it successful a blender. Fine, it’ll spell down easier but it’s not going to sensation arsenic good.”

And: “It’s similar the creation remix of a classical opus that skips the intro and the span and conscionable thumps the chorus implicit and over.”

Griesemer aboriginal offered a imaginable mentation for this change: “On further investigation I’m definite it’s due to the fact that the vehicles instrumentality harm and truthful you’re conscionable arsenic apt to destruct the hog arsenic get it implicit the rocks. If thing that makes it -worse- due to the fact that -none- of the conveyance tricks are going to enactment anymore.”

“Make it an option” is the biggest reddish emblem for a dysfunctional design. We person nary imaginativeness for what this is expected to be, here’s the tools to hole it yourself.

— Jaime Griesemer (@32nds) October 25, 2025

Another facet of Halo: Campaign Evolved that Griesemer has taken contented with is the summation of an optional infinite sprint button. Sprint seems to beryllium the biggest talking constituent astir Halo: Campaign Evolved; portion you tin take not to sprint, immoderate are saying utilizing it destroys Halo: Combat Evolved’s classic, considered gameplay gait and frankincense its consciousness of wonder. Others accidental judge it’s indispensable for the amusive factor.

Griesemer doesn’t dependable similar a instrumentality of sprinting successful the Halo remake, either. In different tweet, helium pointed retired that the subordinate was capable to sprint into The Silent Cartographer’s shaft vignette truthful accelerated that it broke the euphony transition. “Who is this for?” helium asked.

Then: “If the satellite isn’t scaled to sprint, you volition beryllium capable to trivially skip encounters.”

Halo: Campaign Evolved’s Needler, too, has caused rather the kerfuffle. This iconic Halo limb shoots deadly needles into an enemy, then, aft a cool-sounding charge, they explode. The Needler stands retired due to the fact that the ammo — the needles themselves — instrumentality retired the apical of the gun, truthful you tin easy spot however overmuch ammo you person astatine immoderate fixed moment. Still, Microsoft saw acceptable to adhd an ammo antagonistic connected the Needler, conscionable successful case.

This alteration has drawn immoderate ridicule online, and Griesemer is intelligibly not a fan. “By acold the astir comically unnecessary embellishment successful the full announcement,” helium said. "I’m not definite it isn’t intentional satire.”

Then: “But wherefore would you adhd an ammo antagonistic to a limb that IS an ammo antagonistic successful the archetypal place?”

By acold the astir comically unnecessary embellishment successful the full announcement. I’m not definite it isn’t intentional satire.

— Jaime Griesemer (@32nds) October 25, 2025

In effect to Griesemer's original, present viral tweet connected Halo: Campaign Evolved, 1 idiosyncratic accused the seasoned decorator of “crying” astir nostalgia, to which helium responded: “Because I made it close and they are breaking it for nary reason.”

He continued: “... I deliberation determination are dozens of changes (reload speeds, nary wellness packs, falling damage, etc) that marque the crippled 'slicker' but yet little interesting.”

After Bungie near Halo down to make Destiny, Microsoft, via what was known arsenic 343 Industries, continued the franchise with Halo 4, Halo 5: Guardians, and 2021’s Halo: Infinite. The net would suggest that with these games, Microsoft has struggled to recreate the Bungie “magic,” for privation of a amended term. Certainly Bungie’s Halo games are much fondly remembered than Microsoft’s. But wherefore has Microsoft struggled so?

Griesemer was asked this question, and successful his effect revealed his thoughts connected the thought of remaking Halo and continuing to marque caller Halo games now, astir 25 years aft Combat Evolved came out.

“It’s not the aboriginal 2000s anymore,” helium said. “Halo is of its time, possibly much than immoderate different crippled franchise. So they are perpetually trying to either instrumentality Halo retired of 2001 and modernize it (which breaks it) oregon instrumentality players backmost to 2001 with nostalgia (which is impossible).”

“Keep getting them checks.” Remakes and remasters are soul-destroying and I consciousness for immoderate dev moving connected one. They can’t triumph and adjacent if they bash they won’t get credit. Bad concern unless you are getting paid $$$.

— Jaime Griesemer (@32nds) October 25, 2025

Probably not. But I’m not definite what the constituent is of a “remake” anyway. Nostalgia? A caller procreation of fans? Occupying an tremendous creation squad portion you fig retired what to do?

— Jaime Griesemer (@32nds) October 25, 2025

They kept the euphony and the AI the same, it looks like. I’m gladsome I tin play it connected a Sony system.

— Jaime Griesemer (@32nds) October 26, 2025

One subordinate of the archetypal Halo squad who sounds thrilled with Halo: Campaign Evolved is Marcus Lehto, who was the creation manager connected Combat Evolved and frankincense heavy progressive successful the iconic look of Halo itself. Lehto, who precocious near the present shuttered Battlefield 6 developer Ridgeline Games (and deed retired astatine EA for not decently credited erstwhile staff), offered a affirmative appraisal of Halo Studios’ work.

“My honorable content of seeing the caller Halo Campaign Evolved is this," helium said connected X / Twitter. “I perfectly emotion wherever this is going. The crippled looks and feels genuine. It's gorgeous successful a mode I privation we could person built it primitively backmost successful 2001. It warms my bosom to spot Halo CE similar this.”

Halo: Campaign Evolved isn’t retired until 2026 (and astir apt adjacent to the game’s 25th day successful November), truthful Halo Studios has clip to respond to immoderate of the feedback it’s seen and marque changes — if that’s what it wants to do, of course. It whitethorn instrumentality to its guns connected the likes of sprint, those rocks, and the Needler's ammo counter. Meanwhile, the Halo assemblage continues to statement the changes, fussing implicit each item and what it means for the tone, feel, and gameplay of Bungie’s seminal shooter. I fishy this volition beryllium a moving taxable good into 2026.

We’ve got plentifulness much connected Halo: Campaign Evolved, including wherefore it’s the last nail successful the coffin for the Xbox exclusive.

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