New Halo remaster underway for Xbox as Microsoft considers PS5 release

Microsoft is allegedly considering bringing Starfield and Hellblade 2 to PS5 but Gears Of War 6 is apparently off the table for now.

Not only is it Summer Game Fest on Friday night but it’s the Xbox Games Showcase on Sunday afternoon too, at 6pm BST.

Much is hoped from the event, with rumours of new reveals such as Gears Of War 6 and first looks at previous announced titles like Perfect Dark. However, a brand new rumour today suggests that Microsoft is working on a new remaster of the original Halo: Combat Evolved.

It’s already had one, for the Xbox 360 back in 2011 – which later formed part of The Master Chief Collection – but Microsoft is apparently considering bringing this new one to PlayStation 5.

The rumour was suggested by The Verge’s Tom Warren, in paywalled newsletter Notepad, but there’s no explanation for why a new remaster would be necessary, given the current one already works on Xbox Series X/S and is generally well regarded.

It seems especially odd that it would be a mere remaster rather than a full remake but despite meaning very different things the two terms are often used interchangeably, even by industry professionals, and it’s possible Warren misspoke.

A remake using Unreal Engine would make a lot more sense than just another remaster and would also be an ideal moment to introduce PlayStation gamers to the franchise.

According to Warren, no decision has yet been made on bringing the game to PlayStation 5, which suggests that there won’t be an announcement on Sunday. According to him, other games supposedly being considered in the same way are Doom: The Dark Ages, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, Starfield, Age Of Empires 2: Definitive Edition, and Age Of Mythology.

However, he claims that Microsoft will still be keeping some games back as Xbox console exclusives, with Gears Of War 6, Fable, and South Of Midnight specifically mentioned as not currently being under consideration.

Whether Microsoft would consider them permeant Xbox console exclusives or timed exclusives is unclear but then the whole saga of Xbox’s multiformat plans has been characterised by conflicting rumours, supposedly caused by in-fighting within Microsoft itself.

The success of Sea Of Thieves is likely to have helped the camp in favour of more multiformat releases, but it’s still uncertain how far Microsoft is willing to go and whether anything substantial will be announced on Sunday.

An obvious rule of thumb is that the older a game the more likely it is to come to PlayStation 5 (and in the future Switch 2), although multiple reports so far suggests that Doom: The Dark Ages – part of an existing multiformat franchise – will be on PlayStation 5 from day one.