Halo Combat Evolved Remake Gets Exciting Update

While we may be able to play Gears of War, Age of Empires, and Forza on PS5 these days, there’s one Xbox exclusive that hasn’t made the cross-platform jump yet.

It’s been nearly four years since the last major Halo game released, and considering the mixed reception, it sounds as though Xbox is holding back on the next title until the time is right.

While it’s unlikely that we’ll see a proper sequel to Halo Infinite (as is usually the case for this series), rumours of a remake of the original Halo: Combat Evolved have surfaced over the past few months.

While Xbox or Halo Studios hasn’t confirmed the remake themselves, insider Rebs Gaming has claimed the remake exists, and that it is co-developed between Halo Studios and Oblivion remaster studio Virtuos.

“Two of my sources say Abstraction, a Virtuos studio that’s located in the Netherlands, is developing the Halo: Combat Evolved remake,” Rebs Gaming claims in a video published on Thursday.

These claims were backed up by XboxEra, reporting: “On our part, we can independently confirm that the report on development partners is accurate, as is the hybrid engine approach being taken. It’s important to note that Halo Studios is the lead on the project.”

It’s important to note that these rumours have not been confirmed yet by Xbox or Halo Studios, nor by Virtuos itself. So be sure to take all of these reports with a pinch of salt until an official announcement is made.

If there is any truth to it though, Virtuos’ involvement may confirm how the Halo: Combat Evolved remake will look and play.

Judging by Virtuos’ work on The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater from this year, it’s likely that the studio will use a hybrid engine to utilise Unreal Engine 5 graphics over the original game, with very few changes made to the actual levels or gameplay.

It’s possible that we’ll probably hear more about what’s next in store for the series at the Halo World Championship 2025, which takes place in Seattle later this month from 24-25th October.

Halo: Combat Evolved originally came out in 2001, and was a massive hit with Xbox and FPS fans. Not only was it credited with modernising the FPS genre at the turn of the century, but it’s also often cited as the main reason for Xbox’s success in the 2000s.