Halo: Parasite's Wake Is a Combat Evolved Spin-Off, Launching 2026

Halo: Combat Evolved didn’t just kick-off Xbox’s best IP, it also introduced us to one of the most terrifying forces to ever grace gaming. The Flood.

About halfway through Halo: Combat Evolved the player explores an underground Forerunner facility, but instead of finding Covenant they instead find The Flood. An infectious parasitic hive-mind, The Flood consumes biomass wherever it can find it as it grows into an near-unstoppable force of nature.

Despite its popularity we haven’t seen it in the mainline games since Halo 3, with a brief return in a DLC expansion for Halo Wars 2. Halo: Parasite’s Wake is about to change that though.

Written by Tim Lebbon and releasing later this year, Halo: The Parasite’s Wake is an original novel set during the events of Halo: Combat Evolved.

While Master Chief is more than capable of ripping and tearing his way through the infection the UNSC marines aren’t as well-equipped, and this story aims to pull back the curtain on the horrifying events that transpired after the human soldiers were exposed to biohazard.

The novel was announced via Halo Waypoint and was accompanied by a brief synopsis that teased 'a desperate battle of survival for UNSC and Covenant alike'.

I’ve always wanted a game akin to Halo 3: ODST where you play as a marine trying to escape a Flood outbreak.

I don’t think we’ll ever get one but this novel sounds close enough.

Xbox Game Studios

I’m also really excited to see if any shaky alliances are formed as part of the story.

Despite The Flood being a common enemy of the UNSC and Covenant, as far as I’m aware there’s never been a canon instance of the two factions working together to fend them off.

Judging from the synopsis it sounds like we might finally see a temporary truce and I can’t wait to see how it plays out.

Just In Time For Campaign Evolved

The timing of Halo: The Parasite’s Wake couldn’t be any better as it sounds like it’ll coincide with the release of Halo: Campaign Evolved, a full-on remake of the first Halo game that’ll bring the series to PlayStation for the very first time.

My preview took me through the remade Silent Cartographer level and while I had a lot of fun taking in the sights and gunning down Covenant I’m eager to see how The Flood have been changed for the remake.

If Halo: The Parasite’s Wake is anything to go off Halo Studios recognises The Flood’s potential for horror, and I’m setting my expectations high for its return later this year.