Halo: Campaign Evolved has only just been announced for a 2026 release, and already the controversy has begun. The game is billed as an Unreal Engine 5 remake of the 2001 Xbox classic Halo: Combat Evolved, and the trailer has immediately reignited the whole Unreal Engine 5 controversy (see our pick of the best game development software).
Halo Studios and Microsoft‘s Xbox Game Studios says the campaign from the original game is being fully rebuilt with 4K remastered visuals, plus cinematics remade using motion caption and three new prequel missions. Another novelty is that it’s coming to PlayStation 5 in addition to Xbox and PC. Up to four people will be able to play together, regardless of platform.
Among the comments on the trailer on YouTube, some fans think the use of Unreal Engine is overly obvious, intruding on the game, from overwhelming effects to “egregious” Lumen artifacting.
“There are so many effects and explosions popping up on the screen at once, it feels like there’s no restraint here at all and it’s just so overwhelming. It feels like they just went ‘hmm what effects does Unreal have?” And just chucked everything they found in,” one person writes.
“Reminds me of those ‘here’s what X game would look like on Unreal’ clickbait videos,” someone else says.
A direct comparison between Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo: Campaign Evolved (Remake). pic.twitter.com/KataEav4WxOctober 24, 2025
Over on X, someone’s posted a comparison (above) of footage from the Halo: Campaign Evolved trailer against the same footage from the original, and it’s immediately sparked debate over whether the remake really looks better. Some admire the water and lighting in the new trailer, while others think the graphics look generic and lack the soul and atmosphere of the original.
Others criticise a lack of attention to detail, like the way the Pelican turns like a car instead of banking and using rudder control. Should a flying vehicle really move more realistically in a game from 24 years ago?
“A perfect showcase of what NOT to do with Unreal Engine 5,” one person writes. “The most generic, plastic, and overly reflective slop from a AAA studio”.
In the ‘Roundtable reveal’ below, game director Greg Hermann, creative director Max Szlagor discuss the reason for remaking the game now after the remaster in 2011.
Last year, Unreal Engine 5 overtook Unity in terms of game sales, although not in terms of the number of games made, and several major studios have dropped proprietary engines in its favour.
The engine’s particularly popular for highly realistic 3D games, but performance remains an issue. UE5-made games have become known for straining even decent gaming PC setups, typically suffering from stutter during shader compilation. Epic’s CEO says devs are to blame for not optimising their games, and some games, like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 suffer less than others).
The exact release date of Halo: Campaign Evolved hasn’t yet been announced. It can be wishlisted on Steam, Xbox.com and the PlayStation site.
What do you think? Will you be waiting to play the campaign again?
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