Much of the migration has naturally flowed toward the Master Chief Collection. But there’s one game conspicuously missing from it: Halo 5 Guardians. Despite being landlocked to Xbox, Halo 5 has seen a growing number of players filling its multiplayer lobbies, and for good reason. The fast pace of the movement and the intricate map design fulfil a unique niche in the series worth exploring. With 2025 marking Halo 5’s 10-year anniversary, there’s no better time take a look back on Halo Infinite’s predecessor.

The only way to access Halo 5 is through the Xbox ecosystem. The new ROG Xbox handheld is a good candidate to access the game, but for most, an old Xbox One or Series X/S will do the job. There’s been no word on an official PC release and Halo 5 remains the only one missing from the Master Chief Collection besides Infinite, putting Halo 5 in an inaccessible position today.

Still, multiplayer lobbies continue to be populated. It’s still relatively easy to find matches in Slayer, Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag modes. And then there’s the game’s 24-player Warzone mode, which can take longer to find matches in, especially outside of peak hours. Expanded search is a good way to find custom lobbies already in progress. In general, the Halo 5 multiplayer community is surprisingly active despite being landlocked to the Xbox ecosystem.

Halo 5 may be 10 years old, but it still looks like a new game. Since the scope is more zoomed-in and focused than Infinite, graphical fidelity was still high and framerates manage to be smooth. It looks especially impressive with Xbox Series X’s backwards compatibility. Until it gets an official PC release, the Series X remains the best way to play Halo 5 today.

Multiplayer has continued to be the lifeblood of Halo 5. Many fans consider Halo 5 as the pinnacle of Halo multiplayer in general, but especially of the 343 era. What does it do so well, though? First, there’s mobility. Halo 5 added infinite sprinting and a slide to its movement. While Halo Infinite has sprint, Halo 5’s sprint is notably quicker than Infinite. That extra dash of mobility combined with the gravity-defying jumping ability of Spartans make for some incredibly fun and fast-paced matches.

Halo 5 also emphasized aiming down the sights for its weapons to an unprecedented degree in the franchise. Just about every single gun in the game has sights the player can aim down, making precision shots more feasible than ever before. The ubiquity of sight-aiming along with the sprint led to an overriding sensation that Halo 5 was becoming homogenized. But rather than drag it down, this level of dynamism helped Halo 5 gain a reputation for being the most competitive entry. The quick movement and precise weapon feel lends itself well to top-level tournament play. One can imagine how big the Halo 5 e-sports scene could get with a remastered PC release.

But it’s not just more competitive—Halo 5 also retains the sense of fun that defined the classic games. Player collisions add a mix of comedic relief and physical realism, keeping matches unpredictable and often delightfully chaotic. The thruster pack provides bursts of speed and verticality, which lets players leap across distances with reckless abandon. And then there’s the special air-time ability when aiming down the sights, which grants splash AOE damage.

Forge mode, meanwhile, carries over much of what made Halo 3 and 4’s Forge so fun. Players have a robust set of tools to build, script, and decorate maps and create modes from scratch. Sure, Infinite’s Forge iterates with new additions and features, but Halo 5 has a wealth of creations in its library through the 10 years it’s been active, giving it some seniority over Infinite with regards to its content pool.

Speaking of maps, the multiplayer map design is much more compact and intricate than Infinite’s sprawling zones. There’s more nooks and crannies to hide in and a significantly increased pace thanks to the faster movement speed. The Plaza map’s vertical design, for example, highlights the game’s mobility remarkably well. And objective-based maps like Truth or Colosseum represent some of the most balanced map design in the series’ long history.

The weapons also pack quite a punch. A punchy sound effect unique to Halo 5 accompanies all headshots, distinguishing them from normal hits. The Promethean weapon designs were totally distinct and different from anything else in the series too. Again, accompanied by punchy distinctive sound effects and some cool animation quirks. It’s often argued that Halo 5 has some of the best weapons and it’s not hard to see why.

It’s just a tad unfortunate that the game’s large-scale mode isn’t as active as it once was. The 12v12 Warzone mode was a trend-setter at the time, blending traditional PvP play with AI enemies and boss fights to take down as a team. Warzone was something of a proto-Halo Infinite, with its large map design. It also introduced a controversial loot pack system injected with mircrotransactions, something that would carry over into Halo Infinite as well. Still, the cooperative mayhem with the PvP/PvE layout was unique and provided many unpredictable matches, with plenty a player claiming it as their favorite mode. Warzone servers are still up and active, though notably less so than the compact deathmatch modes today.

The campaign in Halo 5: Guardians is often regarded as lackluster and, for most, the weakest in the series’ rich history. From both a gameplay and story perspective, Halo 5’s single player offering suffered from a number of substantial issues, making it difficult to come back to and recommend today.

Gameplay-wise, the campaign leans on frustrating design choices that make combat repetitive and unbalanced. The overuse of homing enemy weapons from Promethean units forces one into a constant loop of retreating to cover rather than improvising with other tactics. Turning Halo into a cover-based shooter just wasn’t the way to go. Encounters quickly become predictable, undermining Halo’s classic face-paced ‘get-up-and-go’ rhythm. It’s especially egregious considering the enhanced mobility injected into the entry.

And then there’s the squad system, which was meant to add teamwork and tactical depth but often does the exact opposite. Unlike other Halo games, you issue commands to your team of Spartans and must rely on your mates for success. A team-based campaign is awesome in theory, but the AI here is just too unreliable and awful in some cases. AI Spartans will often ignore your pleas for help even when they’re just a few feet away. The campaign’s difficulty balance assumes that these revives happen regularly, which makes the experience frustratingly uneven. Not only do you not feel like a one-man army here, you don’t even feel like much of a functional team because the AI fails you so often.

There’s also the spongy boss health which pad out the experience, making it more monotonous and irritating than it should be. Seriously, if I have to fight another Warden Eternal, I’ll consider just playing Infinite instead. Those enemies don’t just have padded health, their attacks are repetitive and uninteresting to boot. And don’t get me started on the higher difficulties.

Narratively, it ain’t much better. Playing a story version of “Red Vs Blue” can be intriguing for some players, and could have been amazing, but it just kinda fell flat for most. Playing as Locke is cool at times. He’s a Spartan with some depth and a likeable personality, but the other no-name Spartans hog a lot of the screen time. And the worst thing is Master Chief gets a mere three missions total in the campaign and that’s it. The insistence on focusing on a bunch of no-name Spartans at the expense of the Chief is both puzzling and lame, especially since many of them are about as interesting as my Forge creations.

There’s also a bit of external homework required to understand details of the story, which is unfortunate. A mainline game shouldn’t require external narrative research to comprehend, especially with an iconic story-focused series like Halo. And finally there’s the nail in the narrative coffin. The  story twist with Cortana, which understandably confounded and angered players. If you’re going to pull a cheeky narrative subversion for shock effect, at least make it somewhat consistent with the character.

Between Halo Infinite’s declining player base and Halo Studios’ silence regarding a new entry (besides the recently revealed Halo 1 remake), the future of the series seems like it’s still a tad bit in the air. But remastering Halo 5 and putting it on PC would be a step in the right direction. If the team wrinkles out some of the microtransaction gunk and polishes optimization for PC support, it would rekindle some of that old-school Halo flame that seems to be dimming in recent years.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

“Last year at HaloWC, we premiered ‘A New Dawn’ where we talked about the switch to Unreal Engine, gave you a behind the scenes look at Project Foundry, and debuted our evolution to Halo Studios as we enter a new chapter for Halo,” wrote the studio, referring to its big rebrand last year. “For us, ‘A New Dawn’ was just the beginning – at this year’s HaloWC, we look forward to continuing the conversation.”

“Speculation is always fun, but if you want the official scoop on what Halo Studios has been working on, you won’t want to miss this year’s Halo World Championship. We really hope you’ll join us in Seattle this October!”

Back when it had original been rebranded as Halo Studios, the developer had also confirmed a number of different things with regards to the Halo franchise. Among other things, Halo Studios had revealed that all future games in the franchise will be made using Unreal Engine 5, as well as the fact that there are multiple projects in the franchise currently under development.

Studio head Pierre Hintze spoke about this, referring to the rebrand has the studio having “recalibrated itself”. “We had a disproportionate focus on trying to create the conditions to be successful in servicing Halo Infinite,” he said. “[But switching to Unreal] allows us to put all the focus on making multiple new experiences at the highest quality possible.”

Studio COO Elizabeth van Wyck had spoken about the decision to move to Unreal Engine 5, as well as the studio’s previous way of making games. During the announcement, she said that the previous ways don’t work as well for how Halo Studios wants to continue.

“It’s not just about how long it takes to bring a game to market, but how long it takes for us to update the game, bring new content to players, adapt to what we’re seeing our players want,” she said. “Part of that is [in how we build the game], but another part is the recruiting. How long does it take to ramp somebody up to be able to actually create assets that show up in your game?”

While the studio has been quiet since then, rumours started popping up earlier this year that playtesting for a new game had begun at Halo Studios. The studio has reportedly set up a large playtesting area where its games are being playtested weekly. The playtests, along with helping continue development of games, are also being used to onboard new developers hired by the studio.

Reports from back in May have indicated that Halo Studios might be getting close to unveiling its first major title since the rebrand during its upcoming event in October.

In the meantime, Halo Studios has continued to support titles like Halo: The Master Chief Collection as well as Halo Infinite through regular updates.

A combined double-barreled shotgun and Gravity Hammer, this weapon can unload both shells with the alternate fire mode. You can try it out in the dedicated Mutilator Madness mode or find it as a Power weapon in multiplayer maps. It’s also available in custom games and Forge.

Other new additions include Firefight: Battle of the Academy, where players against the Banished after the AI Iratus exposes the academy’s location. The Weapons Bench also allows for customizing the MA5K Avenger, Needler, Shock Rifle, Mutilator, and Heatwave with various coatings, charms, and more.

Perfect Kills will also be tracked, and the Banshee has seen some adjustments to its projectile velocity and Fuel Rod Cannon cooldown. Head here for more details.

Halo Infinite is available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

Now, a developer who worked on the project at Certain Affinity seems to have confirmed its cancellation, and offered some brief information on how it was shaping up.

Spotted by GameSpot, Mike Clopper – who was game director at Certain Affinity until his departure in March 2022 – wrote on his LinkedIn profile about his work on the battle royale Halo experience, which he wrote “could have been a game-changer for the franchise” prior to its cancellation. Clopper has since updated his LinkedIn profile, removing any mention of a battle royale mode.

“I led a large team of designers working on a canceled Battle Royale mode for Halo,” his profile read. “I believe this product could have been a game changer for the franchise. We loved playing it and working on it was a fantastic experience in spite of its cancelation.”

In spite of an undeniably turbulent last few years, fans of the Halo franchise do have plenty to look forward to. 343 Industries recently officially rebranded as Halo Studios, and announced that all future Halo titles would be developed on Unreal Engine going forward, hopefully enabling a more streamlined and efficient development pipeline. Multiple unannounced Halo titles are confirmed to be in the works.

“If you really break Halo down, there have been two very distinct chapters,” says studio head Pierre Hintze. “Chapter 1 – Bungie. Chapter 2 – 343 Industries. Now, I think we have an audience which is hungry for more. So we’re not just going to try improve the efficiency of development, but change the recipe of how we make Halo games. So, we start a new chapter today.”

So what exactly does the rebranding of the studio entail, other than just a different name? Well, in line with Halo Studios’ aforementioned goal of recalibrating how it develops content, as prior reports have alleged, the studio is dropping its proprietary Slipspace Engine, which is what Halo Infinite was developed on. Instead, all future games will be developed on Unreal Engine 5. 

Halo Studios has spent the last couple of years working on Project Foundry, an expansive tech demo that will serve as the foundation for Halo’s future on Unreal Engine 5, while the developer is currently also working on multiple new Halo titles. 

Microsoft and 343 Industries have announced that Halo Infinite is adding a third-person mode this November. Developed in collaboration with support studio SkyBox Labs, Halo Infinite’s third-person mode will initially be limited to PvE mode Firefight, though 343 Industries has suggested that PvP multiplayer and Forge could also add the new camera perspective down the road. 

343 Industries has also shared a brief gameplay clip that showcases work-in-progress glimpses of what Halo Infinite’s third-person mode will look like. Check it out below. Given the fact that seasonal support for the shooter was officially brought to a close earlier this year, such a notable new addition is sure to come as a pleasant surprise for fans. 

Halo Infinite is available on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC. 

Speaking recently in an interview with License Global magazine, while discussing the range and variety of franchises that Microsoft has under its belt, both new and old, Xbox’s head of consumer products John Friend briefly touched on the company’s plans for Halo and Xbox’s 25th anniversary.

“We’re building plans for the 25th anniversary of Halo and Xbox—we have such a rich heritage and history, and these communities have been active for so long, you have to celebrate that,” he said.

What those plans entail remains to be seen, but there are dots to be connected for those keeping track of recent leaks and speculation. It’s been claimed, for instance, that a remaster of Halo: Combat Evolved is in development, which is something that Microsoft could choose to pair with the game’s 25th anniversary.

Meanwhile, leaks have also claimed that the next generation of Xbox is going to kick off in 2026, earlier than many would expect, and that it’s going to also include a portable device.

Deadline reports that the Halo TV series has been cancelled by Paramount+ after two seasons. Reportedly, producers Amblin Entertainment, Xbox, and 343 Industries are attempting to find other partner platforms where the series could continue, but as things stand right now, there isn’t going to be a third Halo season.

“We are extremely proud of this ambitious series and would like to thank our partners at Xbox, 343 Industries and Amblin Television, along with showrunner and executive producer David Wiener, his fellow executive producers, the entire cast led by Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief and the amazing crew for all their outstanding work. We wish everyone the best going forward,” a spokesperson for Paramount+ said.

“We deeply appreciate the millions of fans who propelled the Halo series to be a global success and we remain committed to broadening the Halo universe in different ways in the future. We are grateful to Amblin and Paramount for their partnership in bringing our expansive sci-fi universe to viewers around the world,” a 343 Industries spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, Fallout, another major gaming property owned by Microsoft, is enjoying far greater success with its adaptation, with the Amazon Fallout series not only going ahead with its second season, but also having received widespread critical acclaim and award nominations, while also attracting large numbers of viewers.

The Operation is active from July 2nd to 30th, with Spartan Points, a new emblem and the ASSAILER armor (with influences from the Enforcer and Special Operation Elite) available to acquire. Then there’s Operation Pass, with the Premium version providing bonus XP during the Operation. It also provides another Challenge slot alongside the M41 SPNKr’s “Smash and Grab” model and “Rent Seeker” coating.

As for the new mode, it’s BTB: Sentry Defense, with teams having Adjutant Resolution (a submonitor that appeared in the campaign) on their side. The objective is to reduce the enemy team’s score of 2,000 points by damaging their submonitor. Repair Fields provide a means for healing your team and the submonitors, though you may have to fight for them.

Fans of regular Big Team Battle can jump into Command. 343 Industries says its visuals “evoke the Avery J. Johnson Academy we’ve all grown familiar with on the map Live Fire,” with multiple structures and roads to traverse. Head here for more details on new cosmetics and other content in The Exchange.

That’s right, according to Warren, Microsoft is considering bringing Halo to PlayStation consoles. More specifically, a remaster of Halo: Combat Evolved is currently in development, and it’s one of several first-party games that Microsoft is eying for PS5.

Of course, a remaster of the original Halo already exists with 2011’s Anniversary Edition, which is also part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Whether this second remaster is being built on top of that or as a separate project remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, it’s claimed that Microsoft also does have a number of upcoming first-party titles that it doesn’t intend to bring to rival platforms, like Fable and South of Midnight, both of which are allegedly targeting 2025 releases. Read more on that through here.