HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED Remake Could Be Closer To Release Than Initially Thought
A new rumor claims that the previously mentioned Halo: Combat Evolved remaster is actually a remake and that it is "not as far away" as initially thought.
Back in June, rumors swirled that Xbox was working on a remaster of Halo: Combat Evolved. Originally released in 2001, the first-person shooter was a massive hit for Xbox and became one of the flagship titles for the gaming brand. For years, Halo dominated the first-person shooter genre with numerous sequels and even remasters of the original game.
Halo: Combat Evolved was remastered in 2011 for Xbox 360 as Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. It was then included in the 2014 release of Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Now it seems another remaster is on the way.
At the time of the initial report, it was claimed that the remaster was in its "early days" of development, meaning it would likely be some time before anything official was to be announced or revealed. There was also speculation that Microsoft was considering releasing it on rival platforms, like PlayStation 5.
Fast forward to today and a new report shed some additional light on the project, which now calls it a remake, not a remaster. The main difference between the two is that a remake is a redesign of the game while a remaster is mostly an improvement to its visuals and sometimes some small gameplay tweaks.
Xbox insider Nick Baker took to social media to clarify a little mix-up in his initial reporting, but the bigger takeaway in his most recent update is that the Halo: Combat Evolved Remake is "not as far away as we initially thought."
Unfortunately, he didn't elaborate on this, and "not as far away as we initially thought" is subjective to interpretation. Does that mean a few months, a year, or possibly even longer?
At this time, neither Xbox nor Halo Studios (formerly known as 343 Industries) have commented on the possible remake. However, the developer did recently share a studio update and broad overview of the future of Halo, which includes switching from the studio's proprietary Slipspace Engine to Unreal.
“We believe that the consumption habits of gamers have changed – the expectations of how fast their content is available,” explained Studio Head Pierre Hintze earlier this month. “On Halo Infinite, we were developing a tech stack that was supposed to set us up for the future, and games at the same time.”
One of the major benefits of this switch is that Halo Studios will no longer need to dedicate a large portion of its staff to developing and upkeeping its own proprietary engine. This should allow more of the team to focus on developing new Halo content and games and, theoretically, lessen the wait between titles.
