Halo: Campaign Evolved Goes All-In on PS5 Pro Support as Xbox Bets Big on Rival Console
In a move that would have loyal soldiers of the Xbox 360 console war era questioning their sanity, Microsoft is investing an awful lot of resources into making it seem like PS5 Pro will be the place to play Halo: Campaign Evolved.
Now, obviously, it makes sense for the Team in Green to prioritise PlayStation users in this instance. This is, after all, the debut of Xbox's most iconic property on the system of its closest rival — you certainly wouldn't be mad for thinking that the shooter will sell best on Sony's machine.
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But I think it's worth pointing out just how far Xbox is taking this. Hot on the heels of the remake getting its own PS5 Pro trailer, we've now got confirmation that Campaign Evolved will feature full support for all of the Pro's bells and whistles.
As reported by Game Informer, the release will push "PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, SSD optimisation, faster loading, 3D audio, and DualSense-exclusive features".
The outlet went as far as to ask developer Halo Studios if PS5 Pro is "the best place to play Halo: Campaign Evolved", but as you might expect, they didn't get an answer.
Still, the preview makes it clear that Campaign Evolved is looking to make the absolute most of Sony's now super expensive console.
"Even Microsoft's Xbox Series X will have a hard time keeping up with the experience on PS5 Pro," Game Informer writes.
Honestly, it still feels incredibly strange to be writing at length about a Halo game coming to PlayStation — but this is the world we live in. Well, unless Xbox's new leadership flips a coin one day and decides to pull the plug on a whim.
Probably a good job that the remake's already selling stupidly well on PS5, eh?
Are you looking forward to Halo: Campaign Evolved? Will you be playing it on PS5 Pro? Hail to the Chief in the comments section below.
[source gameinformer.com]
Have a Pro, so if I play it, it will be on a Pro. Not convinced I should pick it up, though. I'll definitely want to see reviews first, and probably wait for a sale, as I'm a cheapskate.
I'll play on Game Pass, as it's a remake of a 25 year old game. Yet I hope they do the PS5 and PS5 Pro version justice.
But Fable I am considering buying if the PS5 Pro version is great.
im still bemused that theres no multiplayer in a halo game
So much noise. It's gonna suck, isn't it?
Too bad they didn't go all in by putting the entire game on the disc. I'll wait for a steep discount before I pick this up. Or pay for game pass for a month to play this and Gears E- Day in October.
I’m a sucker for DualSense features and want the physical version for my shelf next to Gears of War Reloaded and Starfield
Halo biggest selling point is multiplayer so dont get why its only single player pass for me
Well they did a great job of Pro with FH5 as well and they probably will with Fable and maybe one day Gears E Day hopefully.
@Hi569 I don't think it's a big loss with the first game, it's MP wasn't really popular and was barebones. Now if they make Halo 2 without multiplayer then yeah that would be a worthless port.
@trev666 If I'm remembering right The original didn't have online as we know it either as Xbox live wasn't a thing yet it had Lan support thought
If Xbox has no plans to release the rest of the series on PS5, there's no way I'm buying this.
@themightyant Same, Fable is the only game I want from a Xbox studio
I played the remastered version on Series X when it came out, as someone new to Halo / Xbox.
It’s fun and a good game but it’s also of a time and shows its age. I think a lot of people will play it now and wonder what all the fuss is about! To really understand what the fuss is about you probably had to be there!
Betting big on halo in the year 2026....jeez Microsoft.
I'll definitely be getting this at some point but very likely after a sale or price drop as I don't often pay full price for games. Just too many games out there to play at any given time.
Timesplitters, Quake, and Unreal Tournament were my go to FPSs back then. Halo never hooked me.
Day one for me! Halo is legendary and I am so happy to be able to play this on PlayStation! Don’t be jealous Kratos but Master Chief is pretty badass too 😂
@Hordak should have played reach
I'm buying the disc for this just for the strange novelty of its existence. The deep dives on the amount of features they crammed in this (along with cross-play) make me very excited to play!
@Hordak time splitters 2 was epic we need that remastered 😭
Shocking another game plays best on the most powerful console available!!
I'm so surprised 😐
Not really much in the way of Pro support in reality, fast SSD loading, 3D audio, and Dualsense features are all found on base PS5. So just PSSR for a higher res then
Removed - unconstructive
PS5 Pro has this awesome but underutilized feature that I really wish the team behind the Halo remake had taken advantage of. It’s actually not a feature unique to PS5 Pro; base PS5 has it, even Series X has it. It’s called a disc drive. If a studio knows what they’re doing they can actually fit an entire game onto a disc, and no mandated internet connection or forced downloads can come between you and your game.
How is this rage bait? it's actually refreshing to have Xbox actually take the Pro seriously because all the other games from them so far have had poor pro enhancements...
@Oram77 It’s only rage-bait if one hates PS5 Pro, which is at two commenters so far!
@Oram77
No no no FH5 on pro was well enhanced
And the best on consoles by far.
@Areus indeed it had lan play but not online. However you could use Xlink Kai to play it online as I did with some people I knew.
@Ed_Zeppelin supposed to be more up to modern standard. I believe that anniversary collection was more a HD reskin (i played it and can't remember, other than tapping a button to switch between og and modern graphics!) But I see your point if it isnt updated.
Again, pretty sure its more of a remake than remaster this time, so fingers crossed it will play a bit better this time around!
I'm leaning more and more towards this as a preorder... Having never played Halo it piqued my curiosity from the off, and "most everything I've heard since point to it being a winner.
But yes, it makes sense that it's optimised well for PS5 and Pro, Xbox will wanna try and convince the likes of me of what I've been missing...
Hopefully all of this publicity about Halo being on Xbox means it’s here to stay! Obviously depends on sales, too, but it sounds like it’s selling pretty well.
@Balaam_ problem with that is the pro doesn't come with a drive. Im still yet to buy one, as I'm working through some backlog and smaller indie stuff!
@Slideaway1983 Yeah Anniversary was just literally new graphics superimposed over the old, and nothing else was really changed.
@MasterChiefWiggum thought so; thanks for clarifying. Probably could have figured it out myself. Still got the special edition box somewhere. Think my step dad nicked it to play and never gave it me back!
@Balaam_ I, for some reason, knew exactly where you were going with the first word. And I concur! (esp as getting hold of a disc drive for my Pro was a right PitA, only getting my mitts on one the week before they dropped it's price!)
@LiamOliver it is well worth getting day 1. Great game.
This is Halo Campaign only? No Multiplayer? If this is the case, this is not Halo. Please don’t buy this desperate Microsoft port. It is a sin for Halo to not have multiplayer. Really?!?
@JazzieJeff1975 The PS Store listing shows "Supports up to 4 online players with PS Plus."
@JazzieJeff1975 the original game did not have online play. Only lan and local split screen.
@JazzieJeff1975 agreed
If you have not played the single player campaign it’s insanely boring…If this had multiplayer it would be a possible buy. Without it this game should cost $20 the most.
@BleedingDreamer you are joking right? We should be getting the anniversary edition with full MP. This is a money grab.
@Morriskind We should be getting an old port rather than something rebuilt and more tailored for PS5?
@8th_Observer I can totally get behind that 👍🏻
I don’t blame them. Every PS5 player is £50 (or more) in their pockets. Every Xbox player is…maybe £50? Maybe a portion of a month of Game Pass? (EDIT: £50 minus Sony’s PS Store cut!)
Another deleted comment. Sigh.
I think the PS5 Pro will perform better than the Series X, but this hasn't been tested yet, as I believe the early demos were only on PC and Xbox Series.
Regarding being better, there are many PCs more powerful than the PlayStation 5 Pro, and the Xbox Helix will likely be more powerful than the PlayStation 5 Pro in the future.
I've played Halo 1 a number of times, I'm not in a rush to play it again with better graphics but I am curious about those new missions. I'll buy this when the price goes down.
@8th_Observer I presume the "four players online" bit is for co-operative play, as in taking on the campaign with allies. Co-operative modes weren't exactly new to the genre even back when the original Halo released (indeed, the original Halo had a two-player split-screen co-operative mode), given the original Doom had one back in 1993. Still, I don't think co-operative has ever been considered a selling point as far as prior Halo games have been concerned (the stink is specifically for lack of competitive deathmatches)...
@Juanalf Halo typically is fine as a single player only game, versus COD it’s usually pretty good and actually replayable.
"The outlet went as far as to ask developer Halo Studios if PS5 Pro is "the best place to play Halo: Campaign Evolved", but as you might expect, they didn't get an answer."
Lol
" "Even Microsoft's Xbox Series X will have a hard time keeping up with the experience on PS5 Pro," Game Informer writes."
In the bulk of comparison testing base PS5 on average just slightly improves on series X.
This doesn't usually apply to Xbox studio games, but that's hardly surprising.
With any serious development team, Series X versions should not be expected to compete with PS5 Pro, so this is a bit of a weird statement from GI.
@shiningpikablu252 I think couch co-op was a big part of the original Halo. At least it was to my HS friends and me! Competitive online wasn't really a part of the very first Halo, IIRC
The sad thing is, there won’t be other games ported with their change of course on exclusives.
I get it is nice to play first one, but the series has many games.
Unfortunately, my friend that I split-screened the OG with has passed (for reference) we already parents back then. We aren't spring chickens. My oldest friend now are going to play it together in his honor and have a couple real Legendary players walk us through the "All Skulls" on thingy.
@Balaam_ Like The Last of Us Part 1 on PS5 which required a heavy download to experience the whole game? Or Helldivers which also requires a huge download on PS5?
Every game is going to slowly disappear from your ownership until the day you die. Whether it's disc rot or servers going down so you can't play them.
I would strongly argue that people will be more likely to be able to play your favourite game digitally in 100 years than the disc you love.
@Morriskind the MP in the first Halo was not online. Online MP was in Halo 2. The campaign in the first game was my favorite of the Halo series. I think 49.99 is a decent price. They have added some nice improvements.
@BleedingDreamer Halo Anniversary came out several years ago and includes the campaign and the MP with better graphics. That is what should have come to the PS5. Instead we get a crappy old campaign with zero MP. It should cost $20 the most!
The MCC collection was just a graphical upgrade. Halo Campaign Evolved is a remake. The MCC collection is a great set of games I still dive in and play ever once in awhile.
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