What's the plan with Halo, Xbox?

The Xbox Showcase offered a few pleasant surprises this year: Marcus in normal clothes drew a laugh, Gears of War E-Day looks as gnarly as ever, Clockwork Revolution promises a time-bending steampunk RPG with a hit of Bioshock nostalgia, and Vivarium appears to be a charming Ghibli-esque life sim.

Among the trailers, Halo stood out for the wrong reasons. The remake, Campaign Evolved, looked fun and includes Operation Meteorite — three brand-new missions featuring the Master Chief and Sergeant Johnson set a year before the main story — which is welcome, since it brings something genuinely new to the remake.

Still, Halo has largely been treading water since Microsoft set up 343 Industries to shepherd it into the future after Bungie’s departure almost 15 years ago. Halo 4 was fine, Halo 5’s campaign disappointed even as its multiplayer found fans, and Halo Infinite ultimately shifted focus at the end of 2025 from live-service support to making new games.

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