Halo: where to start and what to buy

Halo: Campaign Evolved, out since July 28, 2026, is a from-scratch remake (Unreal Engine 5) of the Halo: Combat Evolved (2001) campaign, the first game in the series, which launched on the original Xbox (you know the one: black box with the big X on top).

Halo games have typically been Xbox and PC exclusives; this remake was the first in the saga to launch on PlayStation 5, so for many players it was their first contact with the series. It’s on Xbox Series X|S and PC too, and on Game Pass.

So maybe you’ve only heard of the franchise, or you played it as a kid (like me), but if you’ve looked at the Steam or Xbox store you’ve noticed there isn’t a clear “Halo 1” or “Halo 2”… Instead you get less friendly titles like Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Halo Infinite, and now Halo: Campaign Evolved. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. It’s a mess. The series is long and the names overlap. Grab something cold to drink and we’ll break down what each thing is, which order makes sense, and what to buy (or play on Game Pass) in 2026.

What’s Halo about (no spoilers)

If I had to sum it up fast: a super-soldier (the guy posing in the photo above) in a not-too-distant future who, with his AI partner, tries to unravel the mysteries of the Halo (literally a giant ring floating in space) while wiping out plenty of alien life along the way. Even so, he’s pretty chill: not a berserker like the Doom protagonist; more like a Jedi knight without a lightsaber (though there are energy swords).

That’s the main series. There are also spin-offs focused on specific story beats, prequels, or games that straight-up change genre. We’ll take it step by step.

The games in the series (release order)

First, the full map: how many titles there are and which platforms they launched on (plenty were re-released later on current hardware or in collections).

That’s a lot. The good news: you don’t need to play them all. For the Master Chief’s story, a handful is enough; the rest is optional or curiosity.

How to play the Master Chief saga in 2026

From my point of view, this is the clean way to play the “main” campaign in 2026.

Master Chief Collection (MCC)

Until recently (and it still is the core on Xbox/PC), the Master Chief Collection was how you played that line: it includes those games in their remastered versions when they exist, plus multiplayer that bundles maps and modes from the pack. You can choose, for example, to fight on Halo 3 or Halo 4 maps.

Inside the MCC, in story order, you get:

• Halo: Reach — a prequel; it released after Halo 3: ODST, but it happens before the first game.
• Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary — remaster of the first Halo.
• Halo 2: Anniversary — remaster of the second.
• Halo 3: ODST — a spin-off parallel to Halo 2; you don’t play as the Master Chief, but as a special-forces trooper. You can play it after 2 (or interleaved); it doesn’t break the saga if you leave it for the end of the pack.
• Halo 3
• Halo 4

To finish the Chief’s line outside the pack you still need Halo 5: Guardians (Xbox only) and Halo Infinite (Xbox and PC).

How does Campaign Evolved fit with the MCC?

It replaces Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. So if you get the MCC and this remake, you can skip that title and go straight to Halo 2.

Bottom line: if you want the canonical saga with the most modern versions in 2026:

• Xbox / PC: Campaign Evolved + MCC (from 2 onward) + Halo 5: Guardians + Halo Infinite (or Game Pass, if they’re included).
• PlayStation 5: for now you enter through Campaign Evolved; the rest of the classic saga still lives in the Xbox/PC ecosystem.

After all that, here’s the launch trailer, and if you want more, below you’ll find the chronological order of the games in the Halo universe.

The games in the series (chronological order)

If chronological order is your thing, this table is for you. We’ve sorted the Halo universe games by the year they take place in-lore, so you don’t have to dig (or ask your friendly neighborhood AI):

Halo Wars and Halo Wars 2 are RTS games: only if you like strategy. The other arcade or mobile spin-offs aren’t needed to follow the Master Chief.

Conclusion

A few options, depending on what you want:

• Master Chief story (Xbox/PC): Campaign Evolved + MCC + Halo 5: Guardians + Halo Infinite.
• Just entering the lore, PS5 only: start with Campaign Evolved; if you’re hooked, jumping to the rest means Xbox, PC, or Game Pass.
• Want every game: the table above; Halo Wars / Halo Wars 2 only if you like strategy.

Also:

• Game Pass (Xbox/PC): check the catalog the day you read this; Campaign Evolved and the MCC are often on subscription.

More in Xbox Wire (Campaign Evolved: date, platforms, and Game Pass).