Xbox's greatest ever game is free on Game Pass this week

Xbox’s greatest ever game is getting a remake this week, and Game Pass subscribers can play it at no extra cost.

Xbox has been blessed with some of the most iconic franchises of all time, ever since its inception in 2001. Some of those franchises are Forza Horizon/Motorsport, Gears of War and the topic of today’s discussion, Halo, once developed by Bungie, now handled by Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries).

Halo: Combat Evolved was an Xbox launch title in November 2001, and while many may have been put off by the console's chunky design being much larger and heavier than the PS1 and N64, the moment they experienced Master Chief for the first time, the look of the Xbox was no longer an issue.

In 2011, Halo: Combat Evolved got a pretty solid remaster with updated visuals and gameplay. It also lets you switch between the old and updated graphics on the fly, which is a very cool feature. However, this week, in its 25th anniversary year, we’re now being treated to a full remake of Halo: Campaign Evolved, built from the ground up using Unreal Engine 5, instead of the previous engine Slipspace.

READ MORE: Halo: Campaign Evolved Pre-Order Guide: Everything Included In Each Version

Halo: Campaign Evolved comes to Xbox Game Pass

Yes, that’s right, if you’re a subscriber to Xbox Game Pass, then you can play Halo: Campaign Evolved at no extra cost, but there is a catch.

Granted, initially, it will only be available on the Ultimate and PC Game Pass tiers, but if you subscribe to those tiers anyway, it certainly adds a lot of value, on top of the likes of Forza Horizon 6, DOOM: The Dark Ages, and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. Then we have Gears of War: E-Day coming in August.

If you don’t subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass, then you might be pleased to know that Halo: Campaign Evolved will come to the Premium and Essential tiers, eventually. While no dates have been confirmed, first-party games often come to the Premium tier around nine to 12 months, and Essential 15 months(ish).

Screenshot of Halo: Campaign Evolved, Xbox Game Studios

Why is Halo: Combat Evolved so important?

When it comes to important video games that have made a lasting impact on the industry, Halo: Combat Evolved is up there with the best of them. Before the first Halo entry on the original Xbox, first-person shooters on consoles were nowhere near the level of PC games.

Sure, we did have legendary FPS games such as DOOM and Duke Nukem 3D; however, while those games appeared to be 3D, they were essentially 2D maps but used clever rendering techniques (ray casting) that gave the illusion of a 3D environment.

Yet, when Halo: Combat Evolved was released in 2001, it not only allowed players to explore a proper 3D world, but it was a major step in console evolution that proved that a video game controller can (almost) compete with the super-slick keyboard and mouse on the PC.

It also just so happened to be an amazing game in its own right that spawned many (well, mostly) fantastic sequels, but now, we can enjoy its full remake, Halo: Campaign Evolved, this week, and not just on PC and Xbox.

Halo: Campaign Evolved will be released this Thursday, July 23, on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and wait for it… PlayStation 5.

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