Halo: Campaign Evolved has officially gone gold. Consequently, the game has reached a complete state just two weeks ahead of its July 28 launch. Recently, Xbox titles like Fable faced delays. However, Halo avoided this fate. Xbox released a short video to celebrate the milestone. Now, the development team will spend the remaining time ironing out any lingering bugs.
#HaloCE is OFFICIALLY GOLD and Early Access begins on July 23.
Let's give our old friends a warm welcome: https://t.co/Y4s3pLKvWn pic.twitter.com/IjE7cGnNgH
— Halo (@Halo) July 13, 2026
Furthermore, this title marks a historic moment. Xbox initially revealed the game in October 2025 during the Halo World Championships. Now, it stands as the first title in the franchise to launch on a non-Microsoft platform. Sony’s PS5 will receive a port alongside the PC and Xbox Series X/S versions.
Halo: Campaign Evolved Early Access & Unreal Engine Upgrades
Players can jump into the action very soon. In fact, early access begins next Thursday, July 23. You can secure this early start by pre-ordering the Premium Edition for $69.99 on Xbox, Steam, or the PlayStation Store. Alternatively, standard edition buyers will wait until Tuesday, July 28. Additionally, the standard version will launch as a day-one title on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
The game completely rebuilds 2001’s Halo: Combat Evolved using Unreal Engine 5. As a result, players will experience beautifully updated graphics. Moreover, developers added new gameplay modifiers to provide an extra challenge to the campaign.
Operation: Meteorite & Co-Op Play
Halo Studios packed in plenty of fresh content. The remake includes three brand-new story missions called Operation: Meteorite. These events take place approximately one year before the original campaign. Master Chief and Sgt. Johnson team up to take down a Covenant research ship.
During the June 2026 Xbox Games Showcase, developers teased this prequel content. They highlighted a heavy focus on Sgt. Johnson. Furthermore, these missions introduce new enemies and weapons pulled from across the broader Halo franchise. You can play Operation: Meteorite immediately upon booting up the game.
However, the game will not feature PVP game modes at launch. Instead, the title focuses strictly on solo play, local co-op, and online co-op. Cross-progression will also function perfectly across all supported platforms.
Clearing Up the PS5 Co-Op Controversy
Despite the hype, the game faced some recent controversy. Initial reports claimed that PS5 players needed two PlayStation Plus accounts for split-screen co-op. Fortunately, Xbox quickly clarified this situation. Actually, players only need a free PlayStation account to play the local co-op mode on the PS5.
On the other hand, online co-op carries different requirements. You will absolutely need an active PlayStation Plus or Xbox Game Pass subscription on your respective console to play online.
