Halo: Combat Evolved Remake Reportedly Going to Axe Multiplayer

The heavily rumored remake of Halo: Combat Evolved will reportedly not feature the game’s multiplayer. Halo is one of the biggest video game franchises Xbox has to offer and a big part of that is its value proposition. It has a huge campaign that often serves as the center of the marketing campaign, fast-paced multiplayer, and near-endless content via the game’s custom game and Forge offerings. There’s even co-op content via the campaign and modes like Firefight. While Halo has added some of these modes over time, the core of Halo started with a great campaign that could be played with a friend and an innovative PvP multiplayer mode.

With that said, the series has struggled with getting all of these modes in there on day one in recent releases. Halo 5 launched without Forge (though added it later) and Halo Infinite didn’t have a co-op campaign or Forge mode for almost a full year. This has been extremely frustrating for players who used to get all of this content on day one and now it is getting divvied out over the course of a year or so. It makes the games feel incomplete and causes some to lose interest quickly with some of them not even returning when these modes return. The Halo franchise has struggled for some time now and now, there’s some more news that is upsetting players.

Halo: Combat Evolved Remake Won’t Feature Multiplayer, Says Rumor

It has been heavily rumored and teased that we are getting a remake of Halo: Combat Evolved next year for its 25th anniversary. It was a launch title for the original Xbox in 2001 and it seems like Halo Studios may be remaking the game partially as a testing ground for its move to Unreal Engine 5. Unfortunately, a new rumor indicates that Halo: Combat Evolved‘s remake will launch without any kind of multiplayer mode. According to Rebs Gaming, a reliable Halo YouTuber, sources indicate they’ve heard nothing about plans for multiplayer in the game which is targeting a 2026 release.

Development reportedly began on this remake in 2023 and is expected to only feature Halo: Combat Evolved‘s campaign. It’s unclear if the game’s co-op will be kept in-tact, but it would be somewhat shocking if it wasn’t. At the very least, this is a key and crucial part of Halo that would be baffling to leave behind. It’s possible that the multiplayer will be remade elsewhere. The Xbox 360 version of Halo: Combat Evolved used Halo: Reach‘s engine for its multiplayer, a somewhat controversial decision at the time. Perhaps they will remake the multiplayer as part of a different multiplayer project. Rebs Gaming noted there is a new multiplayer Halo project in the works and is likely the next release in the franchise. It appears to be a standalone product, but it’s unclear exactly what it is.

Additionally, the insider claimed that the Halo remake may come to PlayStation next year. This is hardly a surprise since Xbox is bringing over Gears of War, Forza, and other franchise to PS5. It remains to be seen if other Halo releases will come to PS5 before then. A new Halo is expected to be revealed later this year, but we have no idea what game it might be.

What do you think of Halo being remade without multiplayer? Let me know in the comments.