Microsoft Reportedly Working on Halo: Combat Evolved Remaster, Considering PlayStation 5 Release
Microsoft is reportedly working on a remaster of Halo: Combat Evolved, and there are suggestions that it may also come to PS5 in addition to Xbox.
In a new report by The Verge, Tom Warren writes in his Notepad newsletter that Halo is “one game” being considered for release on Sony’s console. Warren notes that it is in “early days” of development, so it is very unlikely that Microsoft will announce this project during this Sunday’s Xbox Games Showcase.
Halo: Combat Evolved was developed by Bungie and initially released in 2001 as a launch game for the original Xbox gaming system. The project was the first in what would become one of Microsoft’s flagship first-party IPs that has seen at least one game released on an Xbox platform since the console’s release over 20 years ago.
In 2011, Microsoft published Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, a remake that kept the plot unchanged but introduced achievements, Terminals, and Skulls. It was the first to offer a mix of two game engines, allowing players to toggle between the original and improved graphics at the press of a button. Combat Evolved Anniversary is often regarded as the definitive version of the original Halo due to its updated visuals and achievement support, and it is the version included in the 2014 compilation Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
In our review of the original Halo: Combat Evolved, IGN wrote: “Is playing Halo worth the $350 it will cost for an Xbox and a game? If you can appreciate video games and have been waiting for the next step, then the answer is absolutely.”
The report is part of the larger discussion of Xbox’s gaming strategy after the publisher announced that some of its first-party games would see a release beyond the Xbox hardware ecosystem. Some of the first previously Xbox console-exclusive games to receive multiplatform release include Grounded, Pentiment, Sea of Thieves, and Hi-Fi Rush. That list will likely grow as Microsoft continues to evolve and shift its strategy on what it wants to make accessible regardless of platform and what it will retain exclusively for its platform.
For more, check out what to expect from Sunday’s Xbox showcase as this week’s events get underway.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
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