A new leak claims Halo Combat Evolved’s remake will use a hybrid Unreal Engine 5 and Blam tech, feature sprint, reworked missions, and is being developed with help from another studio.
Halo is clearly going through some big changes. After years of fan feedback and a somewhat bumpy road with Halo Infinite, Microsoft officially restructured 343 Industries into “Halo Studios” in late 2024. Alongside the rebrand, it confirmed the franchise is moving over to Unreal Engine 5, with multiple new projects already in the works.
While nothing has been formally revealed yet, there’s been a lot of rumors that one of those projects is a remake of the original Halo: Combat Evolved. And now, we’ve got even more details thanks to a new report from Halo content creator and leaker, RebsGaming.
New Details On Halo Combat Evolved Remake
RebsGaming reported new information from a source who attended a private event and spoke directly to a developer working on the rumored Halo CE remake. According to Rebs, the developer is from a co-development studio that previously helped 343i on features for The Master Chief Collection.
Rebs didn’t name the studio but said it isn’t Certain Affinity and that this team has “a lot more resources now” and is handling major parts of the remake, including programming and design.
One of the more controversial bits: the Halo CE remake reportedly includes a sprint mechanic in its current build, something the original Halo didn’t have. Rebs also said the game will feature level design updates, especially to the infamous “Library” mission, which many fans remember for its repetitive layout.
“I’m told the visuals are pretty much the same as what we saw in Project Foundry, which has amazing visuals and is clearly based on Combat Evolved,” he said. “And there will be level design changes, mostly to the Library mission, which involves Master Chief battling the Flood.”
On the technical side, the Halo CE remake reportedly uses a hybrid engine setup, mixing a modified Halo: Reach Blam engine with Unreal Engine 5. Rebs compared it to Oblivion Remastered, saying, “Another thing I’m told is that the remake uses a hybrid engine setup between a modified version of Halo Reach’s Blam engine and Unreal Engine 5.
“My source says that it is similar in concept to Oblivion Remastered, which uses Unreal Engine 5 to handle the graphics and rendering, while a modified version of the original engine continues to handle the underlying gameplay logic and world systems. This approach allows the remaster to benefit from modern visual technology while retaining the core mechanics and feel of the original game, which sounds perfect for the Combat Evolved remake.”
Lastly, he said a separate multiplayer-focused Halo project is still in development, potentially as a long-term live service title. That part’s more speculative, but lines up with past rumors.
As always, none of this is officially confirmed, so take everything with a grain of salt until an official announcement from Xbox.
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