Is It Time To Retire Halo?
Or does Chief have more to give?
For a while now I've been making YouTube videos about the latest goings on in the video game industry, or just something that has been on my mind lately. These videos are my way of taking a step back and looking at the industry while also providing you with some insight into my perspective. Plus I enjoy making little videos for funsies.
Ordinarily, these videos are published on my YouTube (subscribe!), but I'm going to start publishing them here too, along with a little extra commentary on the video. My newest soapbox moment was related to Halo, which recently returned to the spotlight with Campaign Evolved, a remake of Master Chief's beloved, genre-defining, game-changing debut outing.
Xbox Game Studios
Halo: Campaign Evolved is a faithful yet modernized remake of Halo: Combat Evolved’s campaign, rebuilt from the ground up.
Halo has been on quite the journey since it first wowed Xbox owners and recalibrated what first-person shooters can be on consoles and played with controllers. As I mention in the video, the first game in the series instantly sold me on Xbox. Although I was initially skeptical and, being a young idiot, even a little hostile to the idea of Microsoft stepping into the gaming space with PlayStation and Nintendo, a few mins into shooting grunts, lobbing sticky grenades at them, and then watching them comically run around in a panic was all it took for me to change my tune.
In 2026, Campaign Evolved shows that what Halo achieved all those years ago was special and sparks of nostalgia you'll feel will likely also remind you how important that was. This re-release is beautiful and worth playing if you're a fan of Halo.
However, Campaign Evolved is also a very stark reminder that where Halo is now is a far cry from what the franchise achieved in its infancy and its heyday. Though it may be controversial to say, I think Halo feels like it's a franchise struggling to find its place within the modern landscape of video games.
It has been this way for a few years now, which naturally has led to questions around its relevancy. Or, as I've more pointedly said in the video, discussions around whether Xbox's flagship IP is irrelevant. It brings me no joy to say that, I think it might be, but I talked at length about why and what could be done in the video. Check it out and let me know what you think.
