The Xbox Games Showcase just showed us our first look at Halo: Campaign Evolved's prequel missions, which we'll finally get to play this July.
Halo: Campaign Evolved is billed as a faithful remake of the iconic shooter, but Halo Studios is still taking a few nice liberties with Master Chief's first adventure. Most notably, the game's taking us on a three-mission romp, called Operation: METEORITE, set a year before Master Chief's awakens from cryo-slumber and gets dropped onto an alien ring.
Dear old Sergeant Johnson's along for the ride, Cortana looks much different than her original 2001 counterpart, and, oh, you can pilot alien vehicles in massive space battles. Take a look in the trailer below.
We already got a brief glimpse at the remake's brand-new additions via an accidental leak on the Xbox Store (quick, act surprised) alongside a few paid cosmetic DLC packs that weren't shown off in the trailer. So expect some customization options that weren't present in the OG Xbox original, too.
"Sneak into a Covenant science fair in Operation: METEORITE," the game's Steam page explains. "Before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved, these all-new, action-packed missions follow the Master Chief and his most stalwart ally, Sgt. Major Avery Johnson, as they encounter new threats, new allies, and untold surprises aboard a Covenant vessel."
Halo: Campaign Evolved launches July 28, 2026 on PC, Xbox Series X|S, Game Pass, and PS5.
Pre-orders for the remake are up now with a Standard Edition that costs £50/$50, and a Premium Edition that costs £60/$60 and comes with five days of advanced access, a cosmetic pack, and some extra digital goodies.
