• Gears of War: E-Day creative director Matt Searcy says the game "makes a lot of sense" as an Xbox exclusive
• He confirms that The Coalition "never talked about this coming to PS5"
• Meanwhile, two developers for Halo: Campaign Evolved and Fable are "excited" about branching out to multiple platforms

Xbox games coming to other platforms has been an intriguing concept and process to witness from the outside. There have been ebbs and flows, reports of this and that, and recently an interesting move back to console exclusivity for two titles, as per that recent Xbox Games Showcase earlier in June.

We had the chance to speak to multiple Xbox Game Studios teams at an event adjacent to this year's Summer Game Fest 2026 after the showcase had streamed and found that there was a stark difference of opinion between some of the developers on being an Xbox exclusive or embracing being on multiple rival platforms.

For example, the Coalition creative director Matt Searcy believes making Gears of War: E-Day an Xbox exclusive was the best decision — something not all Xbox Game Studios teams are aligned on.

According to Searcy, it feels right in the case of Gears of War, and the studio never talked about it going to other platforms. "Well, we never talked about it going to PS5; it was announced as an [Xbox] exclusive," Searcy said. "I would say that Gears as an exclusive makes a ton of sense to me, thinking about how tightly [...] Gears has been tied to the Xbox brand [for] its entire life."

He went on to say that, "It's kind of an honor, and I think excitement to be like one of the best Xbox flagship titles. As a developer, of course, it's awesome to have people play our games, but we're Xbox fans."

When asked about missing out on a potential player base and the effect it might have had on hypothetical multiplayer numbers, he went on to say that "we're not too concerned about the size of the audience."

While it's admirable, in a way, that such confidence and sense of ease was exuded by the devs in the face of a smaller player base than some of their contemporary Xbox studios are hoping to get, it does seem a bit of a shame when those other studios will get the games in front of millions more players.

This was clear when we spoke to two other Xbox Game Studio developers in Halo: Campaign Evolved executive producer Damon Conn, and Ralph Fulton, founder and GM of Fable studio, Playground Games. Unlike Searcy, both developers are eager to branch to multiple platforms and are truly excited by it, because it will allow them to reach a wider audience.

"We're excited to put the game [out] and to play it with as many different people as we can," Conn said. "With Halo Campaign Evolved, we have it coming out on more platforms than ever before, and we're going to meet the player where they are."

The executive producer is also looking forward to players trying out cross-play, which he calls "a win for us, just sharing the experience with as many people as possible."

"Halo has always been about coming together and shared experiences and socialising, and this is something that we're really excited about," Conn added.

Meanwhile, Fulton confirmed that he and the team at Playground Games are still committed to bringing Fable to PlayStation 5, alongside Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC, like Halo, and are incredibly excited at the prospect of reaching a larger number of people.

"For us, we look at this as an opportunity to get this game - [in a series] that has been out of circulation for some 15 years - in front of as many fans who want to play it as possible," Fulton said. "We're really excited with the number of people we can bring this game to."

Each game can of course be treated in isolation to some extent, but it is intriguing to see such a contrast and witness such opposing views within the Xbox Game Studios group itself.

Fable has been in development for a very long time, but will officially launch on February 23, 2027, while Halo: Campaign Evolved releases globally on July 28. Gears of War: E-Day arrives on October 6.

I played a small slice of Halo: Campaign Evolved ahead of its official reveal, and can confirm that this upcoming remake of the first game’s legendary single player offering is absolutely beautiful.

Diving into the start of the fan-favorite ‘The Silent Cartographer’ mission, it’s clear why the developers chose this section of the campaign to show off their vision. It’s a level that back in 2001 seemed incredibly ahead of its time, with a semi-open environment that encouraged exploration and defied the more linear designs of other first-person shooter (FPS) games of the era.

It was a real looker, too, with lush sandy beaches that provided breathtaking views across a wide ocean expanse.

Absolutely unreal

Built in Unreal Engine 5, Halo: Campaign Evolved is very much positioned to recapture the same sense of magic and wonder when it launches in 2026.

Running at a crisp 4K resolution, this new version of that famous beach landing is dripping in cutting-edge visual tech, be that the near photorealistic textures or impressively life-like lighting effects. It’s all brought together with a remastered soundtrack and tastefully re-recorded voice lines that seem so close to the original clips that it’s difficult to tell that anything has changed unless you compare them side by side.

This is very much Halo: Combat Evolved as you remember it, though I did spot a few interesting changes here and there that hint at a little more going on behind the scenes. Firstly, the beach environment definitely seems a lot closer to its remastered incarnation in 2014’s Halo: The Master Chief Collection, with quite a bit of added grass and foliage that wasn’t originally there. A minor, but interesting decision.

Although I didn’t clock it at first, the controls have also been substantially altered to be more in line with modern expectations.

The right trigger is still used to fire as you would expect, though you now have to hold the left trigger to zoom in your weapon. Grenades are much less fiddly than before, bound to the left bumper, and you now no longer have to scramble for the B button every time you want to use your melee - that’s now bound to pressing down the right thumbstick.

Do the same to the left thumbstick and you’ll enter a sprint, something entirely absent from the original game. It all feels completely natural and should go a long way to making it more approachable than before, and if you’re not such a fan of it, Halo Studios has confirmed that you’ll be able to turn it off.

Combat evolved

The developers have also said that there will be some more comprehensive changes in the full game.

Visual differences aside, the segment of ‘The Silent Cartographer’ that I sampled played out nearly identically to its original incarnation, though other parts will receive more substantial tweaks. The infamous library, for example, will be significantly less maze-like with design alterations to improve the pacing of encounters and additional dialog for 343 Guilty Spark, your AI companion, to presumably guide you so that you don’t get lost.

New weapons are coming in from across the series, too, including the Energy Sword, Battle Rifle, and Needle Rifle, which should give even the most seasoned Halo veteran a few more combat possibilities. I didn't spot any in my play time, so I’m interested to see just how well they fit in each level they appear. If that wasn’t enough, you’ll be able to pilot more vehicles, or crank up the challenge with the Skulls modifiers that return from the Master Chief Collection.

There are three tantalizing new prequel missions to boot, set before the events of the original story and bringing in brand new enemies and characters. The developers say that this remake is powered by the 2001 game’s code, with Unreal Engine 5 acting something like a layer for its visuals (an approach that also underpinned the recent The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered), so I’m curious to see what kind of things they’ll be able to cook up while still using parts of that original tech.

I just wish that some of these exciting additions were present in my demo, as die-hard series fans will surely be wondering whether these new arrivals enhance or detract from the overall experience. With the game set to release in 2026 for Xbox Series X and Series S, PlayStation 5, and PC, it’s still early days, so I’ll be waiting with baited breath for further news. At least the visuals have been nailed down quickly.

• Halo Studios has confirmed it will hold a "deep dive" panel at the Halo World Championship 2025 on October 24
• The developer says fans "won't want to miss" it
• The panel could finally reveal what the Microsoft-owned studio has been working on

The future of Halo could be revealed next month, as Halo Studios confirms a new "deep dive" panel that will hopefully announce what the developer has been working on.

In a new blog post on Halo Waypoint, the developer said that it will be hosting a panel at the Halo World Championship 2025 esports event on October 24 that fans "won't want to miss".

"Back in June we let the community know that we’d be continuing the conversation from last year’s HaloWC and the 'A New Dawn' video and sharing more about what we’ve been working on," Halo Studios wrote.

"Like last year we’ll be on the Main Stage to talk about it but this year we’ve also got a 'deep dive' panel planned for the Community Stage that you won’t want to miss."

The studio didn't share any further details, but it's been a while since we've had any substantial Halo news.

During the Halo World Championship 2024, last October, 343 Industries announced that it had changed its name to Halo Studios and confirmed that multiple projects were in development.

At the time, it was revealed that the developer would be ditching Halo Infinite's Slipspace Engine in favor of Unreal Engine. Could the upcoming panel finally offer a glimpse at what the Microsoft-owned studio has been working on? I certainly hope so.

Rumors about Halo: The Master Chief Collection coming to PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 have been circulating for a while, alongside Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, which recently got a PS5 release date.

The Halo World Championship 2025 would certainly be a good place to that announce such ports exist.

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With Gamescom 2025 having shown off a solid suite of upcoming games including Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Battlefield 6 on the horizon, and a Gears of War reboot coming, there’s plenty to look forward to as the second half of the year moves on. But with new entries in established franchises coming, it got me thinking about Halo.

It’s been nearly four years since Halo Infinite landed to some acclaim, with developer 343 Industries looking like it had nailed the feel of some of the older Halo games but also added some of its own innovation to the mix.

However, a rocky initial multiplayer experience and no shortage of delayed features took the oxygen out of a strong launch and killed its long–term potential. And aside from a few updates, there's been no solid word on what’s next for a franchise that’s been the standard bearer for Xbox since Microsoft's original console.

I don’t know if we can expect to see a new Halo game anytime soon, which not only leaves Microsoft’s gaming division without its so-called ‘killer app’ but also leaves the story of Spartan John 117, aka, Master Chief, AI Cortana, and antagonist Brute Atriox unfinished.

Ringing in a new Halo?

While I’d have argued that the Halo story arc could have ended after Halo 4, the slightly oddball narrative introduced in Halo 5: Guardians, touched upon in Halo spin-offs like Halo Wars, and finally expanded in Halo Infinite, has left fans like me in desperate need of a definitive conclusion.

Now I understand that multiplayer is often the focus, but the success of the re-imagined Doom games, including the recent Doom: The Dark Ages, the warm reception of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, would indicate there’s still an appetite for first-person shooters with a big single-player element.

And while I feel the open-area approach of Halo Infinite perhaps lacked the real high-action setpieces of other Halo games, I still think there was a solid foundation there that could be built upon and refined – that grappling hook was so very fun to use, after all.

Last October, current series developer 343, now rebranded as Halo Studios, released a video that noted multiple new games were under development by the studio, with a move to Unreal Engine 5 from the proprietary Slipspace Engine. Both of these would suggest there’s a new Halo game in the works, and at the Xbox Games Showcase back in June, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer teased the Halo franchise could return as early as 2026.

A later blog post to the Halo Waypoint website suggested that a new Unreal Engine 5 Halo project would be revealed at the Halo World Championships this October. What this game will be, and whether it will be single-player, multi-player, or both remains unclear. It is, at least, a promising sign that we could get an idea at what’s next for Halo in the coming months.

However, major layoffs by Microsoft for its gaming division has made me raise an eyebrow at how committed the company might be in really pursuing new instalment established franchises; we might just be looking at older Halo games being remade Unreal Engine 5.

Equally, I can’t see a future where Halo is fully warehoused and we don’t get a new game. And going by Spencer's tease, I can see a situation where a form of Halo 7 is revealed next year, with such an unveiling taking place at the 2026 Xbox Games Showcase as an Apple-like ‘one more thing’ to close out the show.

I'm crossing my fingers for such a reveal, as I think it's time for me and other Halo fans to ‘finish this fight’ by jumping back into the Mjölnir armour of Master Chief, and close off the Halo story with one final effort.

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• A leaked benchmark places AMD's upcoming flagship Ryzen AI Max+ 395 chip between the RTX 3060 and 4060 in terms of graphical performance
• This represents a bit leap forward for AMD's integrated graphics, powered by the new Radeon 8060S iGPU
• The chip will be available in laptops and PCs later in 2025

AMD is gunning for the integrated graphics market in earnest now, if these new leaked benchmark results are anything to go by. A result from the 3DMark Time Spy benchmark test has placed Team Red’s upcoming Ryzen AI Max+ 395 APU between Nvidia’s RTX 3060 and 4060 in terms of graphical performance - and I’m over the moon about it.

I’ve long been a proponent of the idea that integrated graphics are the future of gaming, especially as dedicated graphics cards become more and more expensive for increasingly small generational gains. Sure, the RTX 5090 is phenomenally powerful, but what’s the point if it costs an arm and a leg and stock is so limited you’ll struggle to get one anyway?

AMD’s AI Max+ 395 is the upcoming flagship chip of the Strix Halo generation of Ryzen APUs, designed primarily for high-end laptops without discrete GPUs. It packs a new integrated graphics module (iGPU) called the Radeon 8060S, signalling a major step forward for AMD’s iGPU performance even before we get to the numbers; Team Red has updated its nomenclature for this generation, as the 8060S will replace the previous top-spec Radeon 890M. I know adding an extra digit doesn’t automatically translate to a performance bump, but AMD is clearly confident about the new integrated graphics.

So, just how good is this chip?

Well, in the graphics test portion of the Time Spy benchmark (which was shared by X user @9550pro), the AI Max+ 395 scored 10,106 points. It’s worth noting here that 3DMark’s benchmark suite gives ‘index’ results designed to be compared with other test scores rather than real-world figures, but the app estimated that the AI Max+ 395 should be able to achieve a framerate of 95+ fps in Battlefield V at 1440p resolution - seriously impressive for a laptop chip, even if that game is now more than six years old.

Comparing that 10,106 score to some discrete GPUs paints an even more staggering picture. The RTX 3060 offers an average index score of just 8,746 in the same test, while the newer RTX 4060 scores 10,614 - barely ahead of AMD’s APU. It’s a strong showing for Strix Halo, suggesting that the flagship chip should be capable of 1440p gaming even in a lightweight laptop.

Of course, we should take these figures with a pinch of salt; they’re leaked info, after all, and synthetic tests like the 3DMark suite aren’t always perfectly comparable to real-world gaming performance. There are other factors at play here too. For example, the new Strix Halo chips reportedly have a far higher power ceiling than current-gen APUs (up to a hefty 120W), which could cause difficulties with thermal performance in thin-and-light laptops.

Still, I’m impressed, and excited to get my hands on a laptop with one of these APUs inside it. I got a lot of flak on Reddit last year for suggesting that dedicated GPUs for gaming might (eventually!) bow out in favor of iGPUs, but I stand by what I said – and with benchmark results like these, I’m slowly feeling more and more confident about it.

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• A content creator has claimed that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and Halo: The Master Chief Collection could come to Nintendo Switch 2
• A PS5 port is also allegedly on the cards
• Though Microsoft has released games on other platforms recently, this seems unlikely

A prominent Nintendo YouTuber has suggested that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and Halo: The Master Chief Collection could land on Nintendo Switch 2 and PS5 in the future.

This comes from content creator ‘NateTheHate’, who has accurately leaked a handful of game reveals in the past. Speaking on the ‘Nate the Hate Podcast’, they stated that they “have heard” that “Flight Simulator (presumably referring to the recently released Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, and Halo: The Master Chief Collection) will be coming to PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 as well.”

Yeah right

This wouldn’t be the first time that Microsoft published games have arrived on platforms outside of its Xbox and PC ecosystem. In addition to Xbox and PC, Pentiment and Grounded are both available on Nintendo Switch and PS5. Late last year, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer also stated that Microsoft will release more Xbox games on other platforms and that there were no “red lines” as to what they might be.

Even so, I wouldn’t put much stock in these claims. A Halo: The Master Chief Collection port does seem plausible, but I’m finding it hard to believe that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 would also make the jump. A PS5 port of it could be on the cards, but I seriously doubt the Nintendo Switch 2 will have the hardware specs to support such an intensive title.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 pushes even the Xbox Series S to its absolute limits and requires hundreds of gigabytes of storage space to play. Even if the Nintendo Switch 2 could run the game at an acceptable level, I do not believe that it will ship with enough storage capacity to even hold a full installation as Nintendo has form in keeping costs down by doing this.

Of course, Microsoft could still push out a wholly streamed ‘cloud version’ of the title, but that doesn’t seem likely given that it hasn’t taken that kind of approach before. We’ll just have to wait and see how Microsoft will support the console when it finally arrives.

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One of AMD’s incoming Strix Halo chips has been spotted in a benchmark for the first time, and this is the flagship APU in fact, indicating that as rumors suggest, these Ryzen laptop processors are nearing release.

VideoCardz noticed the Geekbench result for a 16-core (Zen 5) Strix Halo chip with Radeon 8060S integrated graphics.

The APU – which is AMD’s fancy name for an all-in-one processor with an integrated GPU and NPU – is called the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ Pro 395, and is shown as boosting up to 5.1GHz.

As for the actual benchmark result, the test run is Vulkan performance, which interestingly is a graphics metric. However, the score of 67,004 is slower than expected – but there’s a reason for that, which I’ll discuss next.

Analysis: GPU performance and workstation-only worries

That’s a relatively disappointing score, because as VideoCardz points out, the RX 7600 desktop graphics card hits about 90,000 in that test. The hope is that the Radeon 8060S integrated GPU in the Strix Halo flagship will be able to get a lot closer to the RX 7600 than this, based on prerelease hype – which has compared it to an Nvidia RTX 4070 discrete mobile GPU in the past – and it might well do, in the end.

Remember, this is still an early sample chip, so the finished Ryzen AI Max+ Pro 395 will undoubtedly run faster. It’s too soon to make judgments, especially based on just a single leak (from Geekbench – which is hardly the first pick for graphics benchmarks, of course).

This leak is more about the fact that the Strix Halo flagship is floating around being tested, rather than the actual result itself. It’s another hefty hint that the rumors of AMD launching the new range of APUs at CES 2025 are correct.

However, perhaps everyone should temper their expectations a little in some respects. Yes, the Strix Halo flagship’s Radeon GPU has 40 CUs and is based on a refreshed take of RDNA 3 (dubbed RDNA 3.5) – compared to 32 CUs and vanilla RDNA 3 in the RX 7600 – but the latter is still a discrete desktop GPU, and integrated solutions are clearly more limited in terms of design and thermals.

We will just have to see how performance shakes out when it comes to reviews, of course, or indeed further leaks. What I’m betting we can all agree on, most likely, is that name, which seems very clunky – but it also carries another worrying hint.

The ‘Pro’ in the name (Ryzen AI Max+ Pro 395) indicates that this is a workstation part. Now, there could be a Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (non-Pro) counterpart for thin-and-light gaming laptops that come with the same CPU and GPU configuration – or, as previous chatter on the grapevine has suggested, AMD might reserve this flagship APU for workstations only.

Gaming notebooks may only get a lesser Ryzen AI Max+ chip, and this is a hint that this is the case, albeit an admittedly thin one. Again, all we can do is keep watching the leaks, but we’ll likely find out at CES 2025 with that big Strix Halo reveal: will it be workstation-only, or not, for the flagship?

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AMD’s Strix Point Halo chips have been the subject of a major leak underlining the potential power of these processors, and when they’re expected to arrive – which isn’t in the near future for gaming laptops, sadly.

Moore’s Law is Dead (MLID) on YouTube had the scoop on these Strix Halo APUs, and as per an apparently official render leaked from AMD showing a chip, the processors will be called the Ryzen AI Max Pro series. (A bit of ‘kitchen sink’ style naming there, with an element of one-upmanship in terms of the models seen in Apple’s M series silicon, no doubt).

We’re given spec details too, which mirror what we’ve heard from the rumor mill previously – namely that the flagship Strix Halo CPU will have 16 cores, and the integrated graphics will be RDNA 3.5 (refreshed RDNA 3) with a mighty 40 CUs.

This means that the flagship chip will be around the same level of power as a discrete RTX 4070 laptop GPU, at the least, so the integrated graphics might even outdo the RTX 4070. Let that sink in for a moment – remember, this is integrated graphics. We’re also apparently looking at a TDP of 120W.

We can expect to see Strix Halo launched at CES 2025 – as already rumored, and AMD will seemingly have a pile of stuff to reveal at the show – and workstation laptops with Ryzen AI Max Pro chips are going to be first on the shelves in Q1 of 2025.

After that, gaming laptops will arrive with Strix Halo in the second quarter, although we may see a smattering of those notebooks in Q1. MLID sounds pretty sure that most of the gaming launches will be in Q2, however, with creators and other heavyweight users being targeted for the initial silicon here. This makes sense in terms of poaching MacBook sales with these ‘Max Pro’ processors, of course.

A third outlet for Strix Halo might eventually be APUs produced for small form-factor PCs, depending on how successful the chips are in laptops (and we guess how much resources Team Red has behind them, too).

Analysis: Concerns about gaming laptops

These Strix Halo processors are set to be nothing less than a revelation for thin-and-light gaming laptops (and of course, workstations as mentioned – which will be the priority for AMD, perhaps to the annoyance of gamers, but there are plentiful profits to be had in the world of svelte MacBook-style laptops for creatives and other power users).

As MLID points out, though, the slight snag is that by the time Ryzen AI Max Pro notebooks pitch up, we will likely have a range of new laptop GPUs from Nvidia. With next-gen Blackwell GPUs rumored to be a considerable step up in power – we may see these at CES 2025 too – the comparison between Strix Halo’s integrated graphics and discrete laptop video cards isn’t going to be quite as striking.

Of course, this means at Strix Halo launch time, we’ll likely be looking at the equal of the RTX 5060 mobile, rather than the RTX 4070 as mentioned in the comparison drawn by the leak – and that doesn’t sound quite as eye-opening. However, remember that the sort of laptops Strix Halo can be packed into will not play host to a discrete Nvidia GPU and related cooling, which will require a bigger chassis.

In short, these are still some heavyweight APUs to look forward to that are going to pack quite a punch for more compact notebooks. If anything, the worry for us might be that workstations are favored over gaming laptops to more of a degree than we’d ideally like – we shall see. It’s possible that more modest variants of the Strix Halo CPUs will be the engines of gaming laptops, and as VideoCardz, which spotted the leak, also points out, most of the spillage (benchmarks) around Ryzen AI Max Pro thus far has related to workstations.

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Intel could have top-end laptop processor ‘Halo’ variants inbound for next year, packing highly performant integrated graphics to rival AMD’s Strix Point Halo – super-beefy APUs also due in 2025 – and both of these ranges could be used to drive the best budget gaming laptops just as effectively as a lower-end discrete GPU.

VideoCardz reports (via Wccftech) that rumors have come through on Weibo (grab some handfuls of salt) from Lenovo China’s product manager, claiming that Intel is indeed working on such high-end laptop chips.

We’ve also recently been treated to leaks around possible Arrow Lake Halo CPUs on mobile, but these new details suggest we won’t get such silicon quite as soon as Intel’s next-gen range.

We’re told that Intel’s Halo product is definitely coming, but that it will debut with Panther Lake, the following generation after Arrow Lake. This is a mobile-only series of CPUs expected to arrive later in 2025 (it’ll follow up Lunar Lake, in fact – which will debut alongside Arrow Lake).

The theory is that Arrow Lake Halo was originally planned – indeed rumors around this idea go back a couple of years – but Intel has now canceled it, and delayed the implementation of a Strix Point Halo rival to Panther Lake. The idea is still on the boil, then, just not for early 2025, but late next year – if this chatter is on the money, that is.

Analysis: Celestial graphics for Halo chips?

Purely from the point of view of Intel having a lot on its plate right now – with getting Arrow Lake desktop out (and mobile), and Lunar Lake on laptops to boot, while also dealing with firefighting those current-gen and last-gen instability woes – it makes some sense for Team Blue to push back any attempt at a Strix Point Halo rival. Arc GPUs seemingly falling somewhat behind schedule – second-gen Battlemage is still yet to emerge, but may not be too far off now – may also come into play in this respect.

After all, Strix Point Halo isn’t expected to arrive until next year, though admittedly early on most likely – and Panther Lake is also due in 2025, so it’s not like transferring a Halo series to Intel’s Arrow/Lunar Lake successor is putting Team Blue massively behind its rival. Plus, Panther Lake will offer the opportunity to use more powerful third-gen Arc Celestial graphics, too.

If this is how it pans out, 2025 could be a massive year for budget gaming laptops with the arrival of AMD Strix Halo and Intel Panther Lake Halo. We’ve already heard how powerful Strix Halo will be, and the rumor is that Panther Lake Halo will carry a similar graphics tile to that found with the (seemingly canned) Arrow Lake Halo – a monster integrated GPU packing 320 Execution Units or 20 Xe Cores.

To give you some perspective on that, Intel’s Arc A580, its mid-range first-gen Alchemist discrete graphics card, packs 24 Xe Cores. So, the Panther Lake integrated solution will theoretically come close to that core count, plus it’ll be two full generations ahead (it’ll be third-gen graphics, as mentioned).

Gaming laptops will be able to use these AMD and Intel Halo chips to avoid having a discrete GPU, therefore becoming relatively more affordable at the more modest end of the notebook spectrum. Okay, so the Halo CPUs themselves won’t be cheap, but they’ll certainly be cheaper than having to fork out to put a processor and separate lower-end GPU in a budget laptop.

Indeed, the power of the integrated GPUs in both AMD and Intel’s Halo products (if the latter comes to fruition) could make lower-end laptop graphics cards pretty much obsolete. This is the way things are headed in the future, it seems, and we might arrive at that point in the notebook world sooner than you think.

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The long gestating TV adaptation of hit videogame series Halo is bowing out on Paramount Plus after two seasons. The best Paramount Plus show, which followed Pablo Schreiber’s Master Chief John-117 during a 26th century war between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant, had a troubled development process, with Steven Spielberg first discussing a film adaptation in the mid-2000s. 

Things finally got moving with the TV version a decade later, with an announcement made for a 2015 premiere on Showtime, which was then delayed to 2019, with Rise of the Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt on board to direct and Kyle Killen as showrunner. By the time the show made it to air in 2022, it had moved to Paramount Plus – you could also find it on YouTube before Halo season two was released in February earlier this year – Wyatt had been replaced by Peaky Blinders’ Otto Bathurst and Steven Kane had come on board as co-showrunner. 

The problems didn’t end there though, with Kane and Killen exiting the show, which didn't get great reviews, before the second season and David Weiner appointed new showrunner. This behind the scenes turmoil is perhaps the reason that Paramount have decided to cut ties with the show, although sources say that the show’s producers – Amblin, Xbox and 343 Industries – are keen to shop the series to other best streaming services for a potential third season or more. 

How do fans feel about the cancellation?

While a statement from 343 Industries thanked “the millions of fans who propelled the Halo series to be a global success” and said the production company “remains committed to broadening the Halo universe in different ways in the future,” fans of the franchise have mixed feelings about its cancellation. 

Many have taken to social media to complain that the TV iteration was a poor adaptation. One Reddit user defended the show, stating “the second was a massive improvement [...] Had the game not existed and it was its own thing, it would have been an internet darling”.

Comment from r/xbox

However another reflected the disappointment in the show as a whole, saying “I cancelled it after a few episodes”, while a third discussed how deviation from the game's storyline and focusing too much on Master Chief’s backstory “robbed him of his mystique or at least what makes him cool”.

There may yet be a future for Halo on another streaming service, but it’s game over for Master Chief and co. at Paramount Plus.

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Halo Capsule X Pet Max vacuum cleaner two-minute review

I’ve reviewed many of the best cordless vacuum cleaners over the years and the quirky home-grown Halo Capsule X is a sterling contender that thoroughly impresses on both carpet and hard floor. In fact I was amazed at how thoroughly it sailed through all my tests.

There are no fancy interfaces to get your head around, it’s comfortable in the hand despite the protruding motor and battery housing and, given the bulbous shape and size of its larger-than-average two-liter carbon-fiber bin assembly, it’s much lighter than you’d expect, too.

I personally love the fact that Halo has stuck to the good old-fashioned bagged system because it means far fewer trips to the kitchen bin and zero dust up the nose when emptying. It also means you can vacuum up the finest particles like fireplace ash and powdered sawdust without destroying the motor. The fact that the bags are comprised of compostable cardboard and brown paper means it’s good for the environment, too.

This model is available as just a standard 'Capsule X', but my review sample was the 'Pet' version, which means it came with a small motorized bristle head for getting hair out of furniture, pet beds and carpet. On test, I found it worked extremely well – in fact, the Capsule X Pet is ranked amongst TechRadar's best vacuum for pet hair picks. 

In some ways I think I prefer the earlier rear-handle design of its predecessor, the standard Halo Capsule, but given this vac’s remarkable pick-up performance on both hard and soft floors, its excellent maneuverability, decent battery life, huge two-liter bagged bin and current discounted price, I have no compunction in giving the Halo Capsule X Pet Max a full high five!

Halo Capsule X Pet Max vacuum cleaner review: price & availability

• How much does it cost? $499.99 / £299.99
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? In the US and UK

Halo appears to have taken the Shark approach to the pricing of its various Halo Capsule X bundles and the company couldn’t have made it more confusing if it tried. I received the Pet Max Bundle with two batteries which Halo is selling at a knockdown £299.99 and Amazon is selling for £319.99.

The pricing becomes very arbitrary when it comes to selecting other variants. For instance, the standard version with just one battery retails at an exceedingly reasonable £249.99 (instead of £515.95) while the same bundle with just twice the amount of dust bags costs a whopping £531.93. Clearly, discounts have been applied to some of its variants and not to others so I would recommend grabbing yourself an absolute bargain while you can because there’s no telling how long these low prices will last.

If you live Stateside, head to Amazon and Walmart where the standard single-battery variants retails at $499.99.

• Value for money score: 5 out of 5 (on current UK discount pricing)

Halo Capsule X Pet Max vacuum cleaner specs

Halo Capsule X Pet Max vacuum cleaner review: design

• Light in the hand
• Excellent maneuverability
• Comfortable to use

I love the funky design of the Halo Capsule X. Granted, it’s a wee bit toy-like but you don’t see many carbon-fiber composite cordless stick vacs on the market, and who doesn’t like a bit of carbon fiber? I think the bright blue details make this vac really stand out and, while looks aren’t everything, I do think it helps one enjoy the unenviable task of vacuuming a little more than cleaning up with something that’s bland in the hand. Actually, while I’m on the subject of looks, I think Halo may have missed a trick here because I can see this vac’s details being even more attractive to a wider audience were they available in a few different colors instead of just blue. How about dusty pink, bright yellow, orange, even white? Halo, you can pay me later.

Let’s start at the top of this vac because, well, why not? See that large rectangular box jutting out of the rear? That’s the battery, motor and HEPA filter housing. Yes, it looks ungainly and not as sleekly designed as this model’s predecessor (which is still on sale), but it never gets in the way of arm movement, unlike most Dyson models that have everything above the hand which inevitably gets in the way. With this model you can vacuum with a straight arm using a pendulum motion without anything digging into any parts of the hand or wrist, much like a Roidmi vac.

The Capsule X doesn’t have any fancy digital screens telling you how many microns of dust it has collected and it doesn’t even have any kind of automatic suction where the motor ramps up on the dirtiest sections. Instead all you get is an on/off button, a button to engage the motorized roller and another button to change through three levels of suction power. The Capsule X always defaults to the middle power setting when starting up but with the motorized roller off. I’d prefer to have it always start up with the roller engaged so I can turn it off rather than having to turn it on. After all, I’ll never use this vac without the motorized roller engaged because, well why would I when a motorized roller is so much more efficient than a non-motorized one. As for outright suction power… who really cares how many Pascals of power it has because this vac passed every test I threw at it. And that’s all you need to know.

The Halo’s battery is of the 32v Lithium-Ion variety and you get two of them with this bundle for greatly extended coverage. The battery simply unclips and charging can be performed by plugging in the charging transformer or charging it on the unit itself when attached to the supplied wall mount.

Just in front of the battery is the first of two filter systems: a corrugated HEPA paper filter that, after 10 days of vacuuming, still shows no signs of being used, and another thin spongy one positioned towards the back of the dustbin bag. One of the best things about bagged vacuum cleaners is that their filters remain far cleaner than any bagless model because there’s no pre-filter to get clogged up or require regular cleaning. Instead, all the muck goes directly up the suction tube and straight into the bin bag which acts like a filter in itself. It also means you could use this vac to occasionally suck up ash around the fireplace or plaster dust without destroying the motor. Why is the Henry vac system so popular with the construction industry? Because it’s bagged!

Moreover, where most bagless stick vacs have small bin capacities – 0.77 liters in the case of the class-leading Dyson Gen5detect – that are further reduced by the need for some kind of cyclonic thingamajig in the center of the bin, this model ships with a huge two-liter monster that won’t require emptying for at least a couple of weeks. And what’s more, the bin bag itself is made from recyclable brown cardboard and paper for conscience-free convenience.

I received 10 dust bags with the Capsule X and that should provide many months of vacuuming. Of course, when they run out I’ll need to purchase some more – and remember to do so. But since they only cost £7.99 for five, I don’t consider that a deal breaker.

Right, let’s look at the business end of this model. The Capsule X comes with two main motorized roller heads: a 22cm hard floor head with towel-like roller and a smaller 20cm carpet brush with two sets of wavy bristles and an LED headlight on the front to illuminate dark areas. As you’ll see in our performance chapter below, both of these floor heads performed exceedingly well in all tests. To be honest, if your hard floors aren’t too delicate, you could just as well keep the brushed carpet head attached at all times because it cleans both hard and soft floors equally well.

Being of the ‘pet’ variety, this model also came with a small 12cm motorized bristle head that can be used in handheld or stick mode. It’s a very handy tool for cleaning pet hair and other detritus off sofas, dog beds and that most annoying of all materials, Velcro-like car carpet. 

To supplement this, the box also contains a flat-headed detail tool and a nozzle for handheld use, plus a handy suction tube clip to accommodate one of them. All in all, it’s one very tidy package that will cover all cleaning requirements.

• Design score: 4.5 out of 5

Halo Capsule X Pet Max vacuum cleaner review: performance

• Supreme hard and soft floor performance
• Amazing dust capacity
• Easy to use

This cordless vac has been a pleasure to use. Like most stick vacs, it won’t stand up on its own which can be a bit of a pain when you want to move furniture around in the middle of vacuuming. I’m used to that malarky and just prop it up somewhere convenient.

Four things have really impressed me when using the Halo Capsule X – its ability to swallow huge qualities of debris, how light it feels, its excellent maneuverability and how easy it is to empty the bin. In my opinion, these are the four many qualities required of any decent vac.

My first two tests involved a sprinkling of crushed biscuits with flour and, for the second test, a good dose of oats on both my wooden kitchen floor and a medium-pile rug in the lounge. For the hard floor I used the default medium power setting with the hard floor roller in motorized mode. It laughed at me as it gulped up every last crumb and oat flake in a single sweep with no scattering and absolutely no snow plowing. It did exactly the same thing on the rug, with no evidence of any flour remaining.

Impressed by this performance, I then scattered a small cup of uncrushed Crunchy Nut corn flakes on the wooden floor and expected the Capsule X to at least snow plow some of them across the hard floor or perhaps scatter a few. But lo and behold, it just swallowed the lot up in a single pass – easily a match for the Dyson Gen5detect. Since I have several pets, I was equally impressed by the amount of hair it collected – far more than I thought possible – and also how well it performed on deep pile carpet, despite the wheel tracks it left in its wake.

The Halo Capsule X weighs just 2.6 kilos with everything in place and this is definitely on the lighter end of the scale when compared to other models on the market. However, it’s not just weight that makes a difference when vacuuming for longer periods of time. Just as important is comfort in the hand – at which this model excels – and the ability to steer round corners and chair legs with ease. This model’s brush heads aren’t quite as flexible as Dyson’s Gen5Detect and V15 detect – they swivel on a plane of about 30˚ – but they’re a lot more maneuverable than the Samsung Jet 85 I recently reviewed.

I’ve also been impressed by how low this vac can be lowered to the floor when vacuuming under beds and sofas. Yes, the carbon bin section measures a portly 14cm in diameter so there is a limit to how far it can reach under most furnishings, but I managed to push the entire unit under a bed by resting the battery housing on the carpet and simply shoving the vac forwards and backwards. I also found this vac easier than most to carry from room to room, partly because the smooth, rounded bin section feels so tactile.

However, the sheer size of the bin section makes it feel a bit clunky when used in handheld mode and there will be times – like vacuuming the car – where its sheer size prevents it from cleaning hard-to-reach areas. On the plus side, this vac is unlikely to annoy your neighbors because it measures just 72dB, which is pretty quiet for a stick vac. Mind, the sound level did increase to 80dB when the dust bag was near full.

Although the huge two-liter paper dust bag is a bit tricky to fit, the sheer easiness of simply chucking it away when full is a welcome change from the dusty norm. If you suffer from dust allergies, this is the stick vac for you.

You get two batteries with this ‘Pet’ bundle and they can be charged on or off the main unit. In my battery test – using medium mode on carpet with the head’s motorized brush engaged – the Capsule X’s battery maxed out at 20 minutes and 25 seconds.

I calculate that, if used on a combination of hard floor and carpet, this vac will go on running for about 25 minutes of non-stop cleaning on a single battery when used in medium mode with the motorized brush head engaged. As this Pet Max model came with two batteries, that amounts to a commendable 50 minutes of real-world vacuuming.

However as to be expected, I only got 12 minutes out of the turbo setting using the motorized brush. That said, you’d only ever need to use this setting in handheld mode when collecting detritus from car carpet or down the side of the sofa. The battery took just shy of two hours to charge from stone dead – a lot quicker than the stated three-hour time.

• Performance score: 5 out of 5

Should you buy the Halo Capsule X Pet Max vacuum cleaner?

Buy it if… 

Don't buy it if… 

How I tested the Halo Capsule X Pet Max vacuum cleaner

After taking the myriad parts out of its brown cardboard box I gave both batteries a full charge and got down to testing the unit on hard wooden flooring, linoleum and both medium and deep-pile carpet. I have been using this model for the past 10 days and it has quite literally sailed through every test – from powder-fine flour to cornflakes to pet hair – with consummate aplomb. I also checked the weight of the machine with brush head attached and measured its sound levels using a decibel app.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed June 2024

HP has timidly jumped on the Qualcomm AI PC bandwagon with two new products, one of which is likely to be the brand’s halo product for the nascent platform, focusing on enterprise users. 

The EliteBook Ultra G1q is pitched as a Next-Gen AI PC business laptop and is powered by Microsoft’s Windows 11 Pro 64 NextGen Premium (a home version is also available). 

This looks like a new version of Windows and we will have to wait for later to see what the new platform looks like.

EliteBook Ultra G1q

Like other models from rival brands, the EliteBook Ultra G1q is a business laptop is a premium product that aims at the top tier of the market.

It is light (about 1.35kg) and compact (313 x 224 x up to 14.4mm) with a 12-core Snapdragon X Elite system-on-chip (with a GPU and up to 45 TOPS NPU). Its compact form factor means that it offers only onboard memory (a rather disappointing 16GB LPDDR5x RAM) while its internal storage can be upgraded to a 1TB model.

Other key features include a 2.2K 14-inch display (non-touch) with a backlit keyboard (non-spillproof), MIL-STD-810G certified, Wi-Fi 7 connectivity, and a 59WHr battery that can be charged to 50% in 30 minutes using the 65W adapter.

One of the strong selling points of the Qualcomm platform is its long battery life and HP says that it will last up to 26 hours or roughly three whole working days. The documentation provided to TechRadar Pro shows that the Snapdragon-based EliteBook should be able to stream up to 12 hours of Microsoft Teams calls.

Qualcomm set to shine

There’s only two speakers for audio but you do get a 5-megapixel IR camera that supports Windows Hello. We were also surprised not to see any 5G WWAN connectivity options or a microSD card slot (the laptop has three USB ports). 

HP also highlighted the sustainability credentials of the Ultra G1q: it uses 50% recycled aluminum for key parts, 50% recycled plastic for keypads, and recyclable packaging.

The HP EliteBook Ultra AI PC is available on pre-order for just under $1,700 with shipping in June 2024, with a standard three-year warranty and a free one-year subscription to HP’s exclusive Wolf Pro next-generation antivirus security package.

The arrival of Qualcomm on the market with Arm-based products that aim to challenge the hegemony of Intel and AMD is good news for competition. However, the success of this platform will hinge on how well legacy (and often niche x86) products used within enterprises and businesses globally perform on Windows-on-Arm (WoA).

More from TechRadar Pro

• These are the best ultrabooks you can buy today
• We've rounded up the best business laptops on offer right now
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Certain Affinity, the support studio for Halo Infinite, has announced it will be laying off 25 employees; 10% of its workforce.

The news comes from Certain Affinity CEO Max Hoberman in a company blog post, where it was stated that for the first time in the studio's 17-year history, it will be making job cuts (via Eurogamer).

"Over the past 12 months the game industry has faced unprecedented challenges," the post reads. "We are no exception. Today we made the extremely difficult decision to inform 25 of our US-based employees that their jobs are being eliminated. This has the most impact on the teams running our business operations."

Hoberman says there are multiple underlying factors for the decision, most significantly an "industry-wide slow down in the funding of new lead and co-development projects and the reluctance of third party investors to fund games or game companies." 

The CEO explains that these reasons have made it "exceptionally difficult to sign new work or secure other forms of funding", leading to 10% of Certain Affinity's 250 employees losing their jobs.

The post continues, with Hoberman confirming that the Texas-based studio will be focusing on the team and that it will be supporting those affected with severance pay and benefits continuation.

"We have built an amazing culture where we all come together to support one another in times of need," Hoberman adds. "We ask for your understanding and patience while we navigate this unprecedented event. Thank you."

Along with credits on the Halo franchise, including 343 Industries' Halo Infinite, Certain Affinity is also known for its work on the Call of Duty series, Hearthstone, World of Tanks, Gotham Knights, Hogwarts Legacy, and more.

The studio's layoffs are the most recent in an ongoing wave of job cuts across the games industry, all of which have amounted to over 16,000 in the past 18 months according to PC Gamer.

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Marcus Lehto, Battlefield game director, and renowned Halo co-creator, has announced his decision to part ways with developer and publisher EA of his "own accord." 

In a post on Twitter / X, Lehto outlined his thinking behind the move and his plans for the future. 

"Yes, I left EA on my own accord," began Lehto. "This was [a very] tough decision for me to make. I want to thank the Battlefield community for allowing me to listen to you while I was able. Your feedback will help make Battlefield stronger. I wish the teams at EA all the best moving forward." 

Lehto elaborated on his plans for the future in a comment on the post. "In the meantime, I will be taking time away from games to see what, if anything, I want to do next." 

Lehto is renowned for his work as art director on the Halo series. His work on Halo: Combat Evolved and the subsequent Halo titles helped give the series its distinctive futuristic-yet-grounded aesthetic. Lehto would go on to contribute to every other Halo game made by developer Bungie.

Before departing Bungie in 2012, Lehto would also act as the creative director on Halo: Reach - the studio's final Halo offering before the baton was passed to 343 Industries.

Lehto would then found his own studio, V1 Interactive. Unfortunately, V1 would shut down in 2021 after its experimental sci-fi shooter Disintegration wasn't able to find an audience. Following this setback, Lheto was brought in as Battlefield's game director at EA in 2021. However, after three years in this position, it looks as though the industry veteran has decided to move on.

Credited for designing iconic Halo protagonist Master Chief, Lehto has left an indelible mark upon the games industry, especially when it comes to first-person shooters. It'll be fascinating to see what he does next.

Looking for more fantastic titles? Check out our lists of the best Xbox Series X games and the best PS5 games.

Halo season 2's final epic trailer has been released – and it might have convinced me to give the subpar Paramount Plus show a second chance.

The live-action adaptation of the hugely popular Xbox game franchise was, to put it bluntly, not great when it debuted on one of the world's best streaming services in March 2022. However, and despite my clear dislike for Halo's TV show – I said Paramount's Halo series had an identity problem that made for a painful watch – season 2's action-packed and harrowing official trailer may have done enough to persuade me to give it another try.

Curious to see why that's the case? Check out Halo season 2's apocalyptic final trailer below:

Here's a story synopsis for season 2, for those interested: "Master Chief John-117 (Pablo Schreiber) leads his team of elite Spartans against the alien threat known as the Covenant.

"In the wake of a shocking event on a desolate planet, John cannot shake the feeling that his war is about to change and risks everything to prove what no one else will believe – that the Covenant is preparing to attack humanity’s greatest stronghold. With the galaxy on the brink, John embarks on a journey to find the key to humankind’s salvation or its extinction: the Halo."

David Weiner has assumed Halo show-running duties from Steven Kane, who helmed season 1. Schreiber is joined by returning faces including Natascha McElhone as Doctor Halsey, Jen Taylor as Cortana, Bokeem Woodbine as Soren-066, Shabana Azmi as Admiral Margaret Parangosky, Yerin Ha as Kwan Ha, Charlie Murphy as Makee, and Olive Gray as Commander Miranda Keyes, among others.

Joining the season 2 roster are Joseph Morgan as James Ackerson, Cristina Rodlo as Talia Perez, and Christina Bennington as a character yet to be confirmed.

Living to fight another day

So, what's swayed me into thinking the Halo TV show might be worth another chance? For one thing, the Paramount Plus series is going to depict one of the most heart-breaking and action-filled events in the franchise's history – the Fall of Reach. Humanity's greatest stronghold in the Halo universe, Reach is catastrophically leveled by the Covenant in the year 2552, with the multi-alien alliance killing millions and glassing (Halo's term for plasma-based aerial bombardment) entire cities as it wages war against the human race. 

The Fall of Reach's events have been covered extensively in the Halo franchise, with a critically-acclaimed 2001 novel and award-winning 2010 first-person-shooter Xbox 360 game portraying this key battle in the Human-Covenant War in powerful and tragic detail. If Halo season 2 – which, to be clear, takes creative liberties with the games' source material like its forebear did – paints an equally gloomy, last-stand-esque picture as its literary and video-game cousins, we could be in for a real treat.

Even more gratifying, though, is the fact that Halo season 2 will finally see John/-117/Master Chief – the franchise's legendary protagonist – embark on a quest to find one of the titular Halo arrays. These colossal, ancient ring-shaped structures are a major part of the first three Halo games' overarching plot. Also known as Installations, they're superweapons that both humanity and the Covenant believe can turn the tide of the war in their favor. But, as diehard Halo fans know, they serve an even more important purpose than that.

Again, should Halo season 2 set up that key narrative strand – I won't spoil it here for anyone who hasn't played the games – it might give long-time fans (myself included) a big reason to re-engage with the TV adaptation. After all, it was baffling that Halo season 1 didn't even give us a hint about the rings, let alone fail to include them as part of its story. 

That wasn't the only issue fanatics (again, me included) had with Halo's first outing. Fans weren't happy with Cortana's new look upon the release of season 1's trailer, while Schreiber told TechRadar "it's the only choice" to reveal Master Chief's face – a creative decision that, given that the hero's face has never been fully shown before, sparked backlash in the Halo community.

Here's hoping season 2 get things back on track, builds some much-needed positive momentum for the Halo TV series – which sits on the so-called (and complicated) Silver Timeline – and potentially earns it a spot on our best Paramount Plus shows list.

Halo season 2 will debut on Paramount Plus with a two-episode premiere worldwide on February 8.

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Rainbow Six Siege has added Master Chief's armor and Gravity Hammer for Operator Sledge in its latest Halo crossover event.

"It's time to siege the day and finish the fight as Rainbow Six Siege introduces a new Halo crossover featuring an Elite set for Sledge that outfits him in the armor of the Master Chief," Ubisoft says in the announcement post.

The publisher also shared a special cinematic showcasing the Elite set in action as Master Chief jumps from a plane and lands in the Rainbow Six Siege's Consulate map, which you can watch below.

Included in the Elite set are the iconic Spartan-117 headgear and uniform inspired by the character's armor in Halo Infinite - the series' most recent release. It also comes with a gadget skin that reimagines Sledge's breaching hammer as Halo's Banished Gravity Hammer, allowing you to smash your way through enemies as you would in Microsoft's FPS game.

Weapon skins for Sledge's primary and secondary weapons will be included as well; specifically the M590A1 shotgun and L825A2 assault rifle, and his P226 MK25 pistol. As with other special sets, this Elite pack will come with Operator cards, a victory celebration, and a unique Cortana Chibi charm inspired by Halo's artificially intelligent character that fans know and love.

From the in-game store, players can purchase the Elite legendary bundle right now for 2,403 R6 credits - which is around $20, making it the most expensive Elite set in the game.  

Elsewhere, Ubisoft recently added another new Operator to Rainbow Six Siege named Ram. Ram joined Year Eight Season Three Operation Heavy Mettle on August 29 and is a "destructive" Attacker from South Korea who comes equipped with the BU-GI Auto-Breacher gadget - an armored drone that can tear through floors and barricades and completely destroy Defender traps.

Looking for something new to play? Here's our list of the best FPS games you can play right now, as well as our picks for the best Halo games.

Assets and cut content from the early days of the original Halo are being restored by 343 Industries and a dedicated group of modders. 

Halo: The Master Chief Collection offers some of the best FPS games available, but it didn't start out life that way. Initially, the now-iconic shooter was poised to become an RTS title, something the series would dip into later in life. Now, the current developers of Halo, 343 Industries, combined with a group named Digisite, are hard at work bringing back everything left on the cutting room floor from as far back as the 1999 demo of Halo: Combat Evolved. 

As declared on the official Halo Waypoint, a community writer for 343 Industries explained that work was now underway in restoring previously cut content from the first Halo game. "We announced that an intrepid team of modders, in partnership with us here at 343 Industries, have been working to restore some of this old content so you can experience it for yourself in Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC".

Progress is being made steadily after the Cutting Room Floor string of blog posts close to a year ago. The recent update explains that: "After going dark for a year, heads down as we entered the darkest depths of ancient folders and shone a light into the deepest corners of Halo history, delving into that secret tenth circle of Hell (the cutting room floor of game development), the time has now come to reveal what you’ll be able to get your hands on with the next MCC update". 

New maps are currently being resurrected by the dedicated team, which includes assets salvaged from the first demo builds of Halo: Combat Evolved. Such new environments in progress are Underground, made from an unfinished Gearbox Software indoor environment as a tight 4-8 player corridor, and the creation of Abyss, which got its starting point as the barebones Dusk arena for 2-4 players. It was initially seen during E3 2000 but now will soon be fully realized to the gaming public after two decades in the dark.  

However, that's far from all that's going on. That's because there's a whole host of new maps rising from the ashes, as well as new weapons, such as an Assault Rifle Grenade Launcher and SMG featuring vastly improved polygon counts, and new vehicles to ride around on. There are even new enemies to pump full of plasma rounds on the horizon. 

No release date has been issued. However, dedicated fans have been informed that: "we’ll have links for you to GitHub and the Steam Workshop where you can grab all the goodness from Digsite Release 1" when it's ready. If you game on PC and want the full Halo experience, then it seems to be only a matter of time until you get just that. 

We're hopeful that entries in the Halo series could be discounted in this week's upcoming Prime Day Xbox Series X deals and the soon-to-arrive Prime Day video game deals kicking off tomorrow. 

343 Industries have announced a string of changes scheduled for online multiplayer Halo Infinite’s Season 3, and it looks like the shop is at the top of this list. 

Halo Infinite’s shop is getting a significant overhaul with super bundles, half-weekly resets, and new dailies becoming a regular part of the woodwork. The super bundles are particularly interesting as these will allow players to buy multiple item bundles at once for a lower price. 

While 343 Industries are still experimenting with the shop layout, these modifications are more or less here for the long haul. “The philosophy behind this experimental change is to deliver more valuable bundles at a reduced price out of the gate”, community writer Alex Wakeford said in a blog post.  

Good ol’ times 

Unfortunately, this FPS game isn’t known for its user-friendly monetization. Currently, the shop favors paid cosmetics rather than free items that players can earn through playtime and completing challenges. 

These paid items are also historically somewhat overpriced, with developers and players tussling for more reasonable pricing since Infinite’s release. In this sense, the monetization struggle mimics what is currently happening with Overwatch 2, as the community severely rebuked the initial expensive bundles and cosmetics.

According to Reddit user crisperstorm, 72% of the cosmetics in Infinite cost real money, with only a mere 4.5% being free and available at all times. While it’s fair to say that the development team needs some way to make money, especially as Halo Infinite's multiplayer is free-to-play, expensive store items aren’t the best way forward.

3 steps forward, and 43 steps back?  

After all of the frustration levied against the Halo Infinite cosmetics shop, it’s refreshing to know that the 343 has been thinking along the same lines. However, we have yet to see whether this new system of time-sensitive items and super bundles will benefit players. 

One problem with introducing these super bundles is what it encourages players to do. On the one hand, it’s great to have more cosmetics for a lower price, but on the other, this is ultimately encouraging players to spend more money than usual. 

An example of this amoral spending behavior is that the super bundles are only available for the first three weeks of the Battle Pass and come out before players can buy items within it individually. These factors support a time-sensitive pressure that may sway players to spend more cash earlier in case the deals don’t get better.  

This isn’t to say it's all doom and gloom for Halo Infinite; the fact that 343 Industries are still developing new ways to enhance the store clearly shows a willingness to adapt and improve existing features. Hopefully, these changes will continue and allow Infinite to become monetarily more viable for developers and players alike. 

• Even Halo Infinite’s devs are disappointed with the game’s multiplayer

The best Xbox Series X games combine incredibly fun content, immersive storytelling, and unforgettable gaming experiences on one of the most capable current-gen gaming consoles, but it's not always easy to identify which games on the platform are worth sinking your time into given just how many there are to sift through.

To make your experience a lot easier, we've pulled together what we consider to be the best Xbox Series X games. If you own an Xbox Series X or are thinking about snapping one up soon, make sure you give these games a go when you find yourself looking for your next gaming obsession.

We've tried to include titles that span a variety of genres in our list below in an attempt to appeal to all preferences you might have. It's worth trying something new with the Xbox Series X - especially if you're an active Xbox Game Pass subscriber as you won't have to fork out for a new title.

Best Xbox Series X games 2026

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is a masterpiece, blending deep RPG systems with a whimsical and downright hilarious tone. You play as Henry, as he tries to wriggle out of a mess involving a pack of bandits, a would-be King, and a pompous noble. After a lengthy tutorial, the game opens up, and you're largely left to decide how you want to play. You can become a sword-fighting expert, or devote your time into learning how to hunt. There's several ways to go about every single encounter you come across while adventuring across the world of Bohemia.

This a a true RPG, and you'll need to stay fed, washed, and well-rested to get the best out of your character. Need to impress the upper classes? Get yourself a fancy new outfit. Want to take down a bandit camp? Make sure you aren't so dirty that the enemy can smell you coming from a mile away. There's just so much freedom in the design of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, and it's easily got some of the best side quests of any game.

Helldivers 2 is now on Xbox, and players can jump in and play crossplay with other platforms. To coincide with the Xbox launch, there's Halo-themed content to earn, including weapons from the iconic shooter series. Helldivers 2 is every bit as good as it's always been, and it's easily the best co-op shooter on the platform currently.

You and your squad will deploy onto enemy-infested planets, tasked with exterminating bugs, robots and the mysterious Illuminate. Sometimes you'll be defending a point from incoming mech-walkers, other times you'll need to close insect nests with grenades. Friendly fire is always on, so be careful where you're tossing grenades, and pick your air-strike targets carefully.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is one of the best Soulslike games we've seen yet. It pays tribute to FromSoftware in all of the right ways, while carving out its own path. A dark take on the Ming Dynasty era of Chinese history, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers tells a shockingly grim tale, replete with themes of cyclical violence, abduction, forced marriage, and no shortage of grotesque body horror.

Difficulty-wise, it’s not the hardest soulslike ever, and if you’ve cut your teeth on rock-hard titles like Lies of P, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, or Nioh 2, you’ll be well-prepared for the horrors in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. That’s not to say it’s a cakewalk, though. A handful of bosses will certainly stop you in your tracks, and levels will typically have one or two key hazards to be aware of.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 takes its main inspirations from classic JRPG series like Final Fantasy, though things are massively modernized here. The combat, in particular, feels like a fresh new take on turn-based systems, featuring parries that help add extra energy to battles. The art direction is completely unique too, and very French, something we don't see all that much of in the RPG space.

There's an all star cast in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Daredevil's Charlie Cox, Baldur's Gate 3's Jennifer English, and Final Fantasy 16's Ben Starr each give it their all, bolstering a story that's surprisingly emotional and politically-charged. On Xbox Series X, you can play Clair Obscur as part of Game Pass, and if you do you'll be greeted with beautiful 4K visuals and silky smooth performance.

Elden Ring: Nightreign is a multiplayer spin-off that retools the base game's mechanics for an exciting and innovative new world. You choose from a handful of distinct Nighfarers, and drop into a dynamic map that must be survived, explored, and raced through before facing bosses. There's a closing circle to outrun, Ultimate abilities to use, and limited-time map events that balance risk and reward in smart ways.

Despite re-using bosses, locations and weapons from Elden Ring, there's a freshness to Nightreign that helps it stand out. Traversal has been completely overhauled, adding wall jumping, faster sprinting, and gliders in the form of Spectral Hawks. Getting around is a joy, as is the lack of fall damage allowing for a wider set of options when making your way between encampments. Sqaudding up with friends is the best way to play, though solo runs have been updated post-launch and now feel viable.

Oblivion Remastered is much more than its name might suggest. Sure, there's a hefty graphical update, and modern tweaks to combat, but when you weigh up everything as one package, this is closer to a remake. All of the old charm is still there, including some of the more beloved bugs and glitches, but there's an extra layer of polish bringing Oblivion more in line with Skyrim. This opens it up to an audience that may have missed it first time around, finally giving it the praise and attention it deserves.

If you're unfamiliar with Oblivion, it's a brighter, more colorful, and sillier game than Skyrim. Magic / spell casting is deeper, as are systems like alchemy and The Dark Brotherhood, but largely it's all in line with other Bethesda RPGs. What makes Oblivion stand out is top-tier quest writing, excellent voice performances from Sean Bean and Patrick Stewart, as well as a more varied and visually interesting open world map. Give it a go, as it very much holds up in 2025, especially now it features amazing lighting, atmospheric fog, and a redesigned leveling system.

It's been a long time coming, but Assassin's Creed Shadows finally takes the series to Japan. Predictably, this is a match made in heaven, with towering castles perfect for sneaky, grappling-hook assisted parkour, and an absolutely gorgeous open world to explore. Exploration is the real standout here, with a varied and dynamic world that changes with the seasons being the star of the show. Snow enveloped mountains rise in the Winter, and blossoms bloom come Spring. It really is a joy to behold.

Over on the combat side, we have two protagonists this time around. Naoe is your classic assassin, using stealth, tools and the environment to take out enemies silently. Yasuke, on the other hand, is a heavily armored samurai, able to take on groups of enemies head on while storming encampments. Each has their own story, and side missions to enjoy. Take down targets, ride across the beautiful countryside on horseback, or kick back at your Hideout. There's so much to do and see in Assassin's Creed Shadows, it'll keep you busy for a hundred hours at least.

Monster Hunter Wilds is a new peak for the series, bringing in even more players than its predecessor, and ushering a new era for the long-running series. In many ways, this is the best Monster Hunter to start with as a new player, given how streamlined its combat is when compared to past entries. Thanks to the new Focus Mode, you can aim your attacks with precision, and use Focus Strikes to attack weak points. Whether you choose a hard-hitting blunt weapon like the Hammer, or an acrobatic ranged/melee hybrid like the Insect Glaive, each hunt is exciting, and action-packed. You can now bring two weapons into hunts too, encouraging experimentation, and opening up even more possibilities for builds and loadouts.

The bustling open world of Wilds has been meticulously designed, and filled to the brim with all manner of flora and fauna. These environments change with the seasons too, as storms roll in and then leave each landscape completely transformed. For the first time ever, hunters can head out and explore a seamless map, one that's even easier to traverse with the help of your Seikret mount. Bring some friends, or rely on the NPC companions for extra help, as you take on harder and harder hunts and improve your gear.

Marvel Rivals had one heck of a launch at the end of last year, and it's only gone from strength to strength ever since. Now, there's 35 Heroes to choose from, with the Fantastic Four having joined in on the fun for 2025. Whether you want to blast enemies with guns, or used magic to freeze them in place, there's a characters for you. From icons like Iron-Man and Thor to lesser known names like Namor and Jeff the Land Shark, the range of play styles on offer is very broad indeed.

While Marvel Rivals is undoubtedly an Overwatch clone, it does set itself aside from competitors by having such a high production value. By being a third-person action game, it's also very different to the games it borrows from, with Heroes like Iron Fist feeling very unique. There's crossplay too, so you can squad up with your friends on any platform.

Assassin's Creed Mirage started life as an expansion pack for AC: Valhalla, before the dev team realised that it'd be better suited as a standalone release. This makes it a much more focused and linear offering when compared to the vast open-world RPG designs of Assassin's Creed Odyssey, one that takes players back to a more traditional Assassin's Creed experience.

What does a back to basics approach look like for a series like Assassin's Creed? Well, for one, stealth is much more important in Mirage. The setting of Baghdad is decidedly more detailed and dense than what we've seen in the last few games. Protagonist Basim is most like the first game's protagonist, as he completes contracts for the Hidden ones, assassinating key targets, and swaying the city's balance of power. This is one for those that liked the older AC games, when Hidden Blades and social stealth ruled the roost.

After a long wait, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle finally arrived at the end of 2024. It's been a hit with critics, offering up a different kind of experience than many were expecting. This ain't no Uncharted clone, far from it. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has more in common with games like Dishonored and Riddick, with immersive sim mechanics paired with stealth combat.

Thanks to an excellent performance by Troy Baker, and an epic score, the game feels just like the classic movies. Its story sits somewhere between Raiders and Temple of Doom in terms of scale and scope, and it's a welcomed return for the Indiana that we all know and love. Slightly more polarising is the open-zone design, which sees players completing side tasks that loop back into the main area. We enjoyed this approach, but be aware that this isn't a strictly linear experience, and it's certainly not a first person shooter.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a Stalker game through and through, though thanks to its marketing having been heavily aided by Xbox, it's likely to be a great jumping on point for many players. With this comes something of a warning, these games are hard, very hard. They're survival simulators, that task you with taking on increasingly horrifying challenges, while exploring a massive open world. If that sounds like your thing, we really can't recommend Stalker 2 enough.

The Zone, the open world area available to you in Stalker 2, is the real star of the show here. It's at times beautiful, at all times dangerous, and regularly thrilling. You'll meet other Stalkers, hunker down in rundown buildings as storms rage overhead, and scavenge for resources that'll help you keep going.

Atlus' new original series Metaphor: ReFantazio gets off to an extremely strong start. It's an instant classic, showcasing all of the best bits from the Persona and SMT series in a dark fantasy package. Combat is stylish and complex, while the story is one of the best to come from Atlus yet. Somehow, the beloved developer has done it again, adding a new cast of characters for fans to fall in love with.

If you're a fan of the Persona series, don't let the new fantasy setting deter you. Metaphor: ReFantazio is a must-play, with great performance on Xbox consoles. The game’s soundtrack is also a highlight with renowned composer Shoji Meguro returning for the score. Here, he trades in the infectious pop beats of Persona and the grimy rock sound of earlier Shin Megami Tensei games for something more orchestral and offbeat. Well worth checking out.

Star Wars Outlaws finally lets players explore the criminal underworld, as they make friends and enemies with syndicates like Crimson Dawn, The Hutt Cartel and The Pykes. As Kay Vess, you'll head from Canto Bight to Tatooine, pulling off heists and stringing together a crew for the ultimate contract job. The game offers up a handful of open-worlds to explore, each with their own syndicate-controlled zones and secrets to uncover. Kay is a master with a blaster, and can use her pet Nix to distract guards and trigger explosives from afar. As you progress, you'll unlock even more skills, allowing you to gain the upper hand on even the toughest of foes.

If combat isn't your main focus, you can also just unwind in the game's many cantinas and bars, playing Sabacc against some of the best card players in the Galaxy. You can even take to the stars in your ship, exploring asteroid clusters, dangerous nebula and more.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is one of the best Xbox Series X games, and thankfully it's even on Game Pass. It shoots for the stars with a plot that expertly ties together the stories of Kiryu and Ichiban, adding in a whole lot of heart, while refining the turn-based combat of its predecessor. Being a Yakuza game, there's heaps of brilliantly written side content to enjoy, ranging from short action vignettes to oddball comedy jaunts.

While veteran fans of the series will no doubt get more out of Infinite Wealth than new players, there's plenty here for everyone to enjoy. Kiryu and Ichiban continue to be some of the best protagonists in all of gaming, and the story takes quite a few twists and turns before setting up even bigger things to come. Take a punt on this JRPG and you're in for over a hundred hours of fun, in a brand new setting for the long-running and much-adored SEGA series.

Dragon's Dogma 2 is part remake, part sequel to the original game. It's a very strange game indeed, landing somewhere between Monster Hunter, Skyrim and The Witcher, with as much humor as it has action. Basically, you are the Arisen, tasked with slaying a dragon and halting the end of the world. Along the way, you'll recruit Pawns: NPCs that each has their own set of skills, personality, and fighting style. This is where the game truly shines, as you're able to recruit other players' Pawns, and vice-versa.

What follows is an epic tale that's tinged with slapstick, as the Arisen launches Pawns skyward in the hopes of landing critical blows on a wide variety of beasts. Dragon's Dogma 2 is hilariously challenging, downright unfair at times, but in the end, completely lovable. A truly unique game, one that finally shines a much-deserved spotlight on a series that's inspired so many of the modern action RPGs we play today.

Baldur's Gate 3 won pretty much every award a game can win when it launched in 2023, cementing it as one of the best RPGs you can play on any platform. And while Xbox players had to wait a little bit longer for the game, it was well worth it.

The game has now received a slew of post-launch updates fixing up everything from performance to bug-heavy quest lines. In terms of sheer variety, Baldur's Gate 3 is unrivaled in its combat systems. That's mostly due to it being based on Dungeons and Dragons, translating the iconic pen and paper RPG to a video game format seamlessly. You can choose to approach any situation in pretty much anyway you wish, leading to some brilliant comedic moments, and plenty of replayability.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is a narrative-driven action game almost like no other. Developer Ninja Theory’s sequel to the 2017 game Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice delivers a harrowing, bleak, and heavy experience that will live long in the memory.

Even more than its predecessor, Hellblade 2 really pushes the boundaries of visuals in gaming. It makes use of every single ounce of the Xbox Series X's power, and manages to tell a heart -wrenching tale that fans of the first game will absolutely love. Definitely a must play for those looking to see what Xbox's most powerful console is capable of.

South of Midnight is one that flew under the radar for many at launch, and that is a shame. While it did pick up steam with the subsequent PS5 release, it's still an incredible single-player adventure on Xbox Series X with a striking Southern Gothic art style and satisfying combat.

As Hazel, you'll traverse through the town of Prospero as she sets out on a quest to search for and rescue her mother. Naturally, the place is crawling with monsters after a cataclysmic event, and Hazel will need to make use of all manner of spiritual spells and weaponry in order to survive.

At around 10-15 hours, it's an expertly paced game with a tightly-woven narrative. You may only play it once, but if it lands with you, it's an experience you won't soon forget.

When Pragmata was first announced during the PS5 reveal in 2020, we didn't think we'd be waiting six more years before we could actually play it. Better late than never, though, as Pragmata is an unforgettable sci-fi adventure that blends satisfying crowd-control combat with a very clever hacking mechanic.

Our heroes Hugh and Diana work in tandem to escape a massive moonbase when its core AI system goes rogue, causing its robot workers to go haywire. Enemy variety is pretty vast, with each requiring a different approach in order to take them down. Hugh will need to balance usage of offensive and supportive weapon types to control crowds of enemies and focus on priority targets. Meanwhile, Diana's hacking ability opens up enemy weakpoints, and can apply various debuffs to them such as increased damage or a burn-over-time effect.

The game looks simply gorgeous, too, utilizing a simple sci-fi aesthetic that the team at Capcom gets extremely creative with. Like many Capcom games, your playthrough will be a pretty lean 10 or so hours, but there's tons of replay value here via New Game Plus options and further unlockable challenges.

Developer FromSoftware continues its run of notoriously difficult action RPGs – or Souls-likes, as ubiquitous as the term is now – with Elden Ring. Set in the fantasy realm of The Lands Between, players hack, slash, dodge, and perfectly time their way through the realm with the hopes of becoming the Elden Lord.

While there is always a lot to uncover in a FromSoftware game, Elden Ring is the first that lets you roam the entirety of its vast world from the beginning, and it offers a way to engage and disengage from difficult encounters as you see fit. The trademark difficulty of FromSoftware's Soulslike games is still present here, but for fans of their particular brand of grimdark fantasy, there is no better game.

It's been a long time coming, but Forza Horizon 6 has successfully put the legendary series back on the top of the open-world racing game pile. That's in no small way due to the fresh new setting of Japan, making for one of the most beautiful and varied maps we've seen in any racing game to date.

A new aftermarket car feature is perhaps our favorite addition. You'll now be able to spot souped-up versions of existing cars while you're driving about, and instantly purchase them with in-game credits. This adds so much variety to the already massive 600+ car roster, and we enjoyed finding these as much as we did the barn finds and the all-new treasure cars.

Multiplayer has been tightened up, too, being far less prone to random disconnects in our testing. Everything from convoys and race modes to new customization and sharing features all worked seamlessly here - a vast improvement over Forza Horizon 5.

Open-world games are a dime a dozen on Xbox Series X, and there's loads in this guide! However, Crimson Desert is worth bringing up because it does things slightly differently from the norm. Especially if you've had your fill of that Ubisoft-style checklist approach to open-world design.

First off, though, Crimson Desert is visually stunning. You'll really see it pushing the Xbox Series X to its limits with beautiful vistas, impressive draw distance, and fine character detailing. Performance can take a hit as a result, but the game's a real visual treat if you own a 4K, HDR-capable display.

Aside from that, Crimson Desert sports an open-world that feels rather alive. It's crammed with things to find and do, from moreish combat encounters to more laid-back minigames. It almost feels like there's something new to discover with every corner you turn, and that's no small feat on developer Pearl Abyss's part.

Avowed on its surface might look like an attempt to capture some of that Elder Scrolls magic, but it's actually going for something much different. For one, its story is actually good, with a range of memorable characters that extend beyond even your combat-capable party.

What we really love about Avowed, though, is its build variety. It's pretty free-form, letting you mix and match different weapon types in each hand. Want to be a spellsword wielding a blade and spellbook? You can do that. How about a wizard with a gun? Staves and pistols are available for that, too. It all leans into developer Obsidian's sharp writing and dry, witty sense of humor that injects so much personality into its works.

Since launch, Avowed has received numerous updates, including a jam-packed anniversary one that added New Game Plus and a variety of character creation options. There's never been a better time to check it out.

Halo is Xbox's flagship series of futuristic first-person shooters, and Halo Infinite is no exception. As Master Chief, you make your way through the ringworld Zeta Halo, where forces of the Banished have stranded you. As you're trying to find a way off-planet, you quickly learn there's a lot more to Zeta Halo than you can see at first glance.

Since taking over the Halo franchise from its original developer Bungie, 343 Industries hasn't strayed from the formula much, but putting the game into an open world serves to refresh the formula, even though many of the tasks you get, such as freeing outposts, will be familiar if you've played any open-world game before. Master Chief's versatile new grappling hook does a lot to make combat more snappy, and the story offers some satisfying twists and turns. Halo Infinite is a great blend of old and new, keeping the spirit of the series intact while including fun new elements.

Hitman 3 is the dramatic conclusion to the acclaimed stealth series that sees Agent 47 take out targets all across the globe. The gameplay is easy to explain – you get a target, infiltrate their space, and try to off them unseen. However, in this seemingly simple concept lies an unprecedented amount of depth. While you're lying in wait, targets, as well as the people around them, continue to live their lives, often forcing you to think on the fly and make clever use of the environment to get to your goal.

The new locations, such as Dubai, China, and Argentina, are some of the most memorable of the series. Add to that more experimental objectives and a gripping story (plus native 4K at 60fps on the Xbox Series X) and Hitman 3 rightly deserves its place on our best Xbox Series X games list.

Want to fly over Machu Picchu? Maybe take in the breathtaking view of the Northern Lights in Norway? Maybe you just want to see how your neighborhood looks from a plane? Then Microsoft Flight Simulator is probably for you as it allows you to soar the skies of the entire world - complete with real-time weather and traffic. This is a realistic flight simulator in many more aspects than the weather – you'll need to understand the different controls on a plane, displays, and behavior, which is part of the fun.

Once you're soaring above the clouds, even the most fiddly plane will the worth it, as Microsoft Flight Simulator is really a great reminder of how beautiful our planet is. Players who love deep flight simulation get with Microsoft Flight Simulator the best game of its kind, which becomes even more enjoyable with the right peripherals. Using cutting-edge technology and graphics for the ultimate immersive experience, this is one of the best Xbox Series X games.

Sea of Thieves is Rare's multiplayer pirating sandbox and an incredible game that makes your dreams of becoming a mighty pirate come true. Whether you hunt treasure, attack other ships, or deck out your own, there is always something to do. Additionally, Sea of Thieves doesn't use an expansion pass model, meaning that after your initial purchase of the game, you get to enjoy a world that's constantly being added to and refined. We even went so far as to say Sea of Thieves is putting other live service games to shame.

On Xbox Series X, Sea of Thieves benefits from a sizable boost to its frame rate. the game now runs at silky-smooth 4K/60fps, and the improvement is tangible. Whether you’re sailing across rough waters as a storm begins to break, or battling skeletons on the shoreline in the hunt for treasure, the game feels far more responsive and enjoyable as a result. The game also now loads incredibly fast thanks to the Xbox Series X’s SSD. It’s a fantastic upgrade over the Xbox One version and one that deserves to be called one of the best Xbox Series X Games out there.

How we made our best Xbox Series X games list

The TechRadar Gaming team is gaming and tech experts. We've played hundreds and hundreds of hours across loads of Xbox Series X games, and so are fully qualified to give you some key recommendations for the console.

As a team made up of different folks with different areas of interest, expertise, and experience, we have the balance to present to you a solid best list, but one that we constantly scrutinise with each new release - but also more generally, arguing over titles that might make it into our best Xbox Series X game list, or those that are in danger of being replaced. As a result of this experience, you can trust us and our picks.

The studio head of Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries has announced that the Microsoft-owned studio will continue to develop Halo games, despite rumors to the contrary. 

In a recent Tweet, from the official Halo Twitter, studio head Pierre Hintze announced: “Halo and Master Chief are here to stay. 343 Industries will continue to develop Halo now and in the future, including epic stories, multiplayer, and more of what makes Halo great.” 

The statement comes off of the back of a troubling claim by Halo leaker Bathrobe Spartan that suggested 343 had been taken off of “active development” of new Halo games following Microsoft’s recent spate of major layoffs, with its role now being filled by third-party studios (via Gamespot).

Both 343 Industries and Starfield developer Bethesda Game Studios have been hit by Microsoft’s recent layoffs. In the wake of global economic fragility, the tech giant has announced 10,000 job cuts as part of an effort to “allocate both our capital and talent to areas of secular growth and long-term competitiveness for the company”.

This corporate jargon is difficult to parse, and many feared it would mean adverse effects for 343 Industries and the Halo series going forward. Despite these concerns, however, it looks like 343 still has its hand on the tiller when it comes to Halo games. 

The Tweet itself is somewhat vague, however, and contains no concrete indications as to what exactly the future looks like for 343 beyond the fact that it is Halo-shaped. 343 has already made it clear that Infinite won’t be receiving a sequel as such, rather, it’ll be a “new platform” for Halo content reminiscent of live-service games (via IGN). It’s a brave new world for Halo, and only time will tell as to what this means for the fans.

Renewed Covenant

As someone who enjoyed Halo Infinite, I will confess to having breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the news that 343 Industries is still heading up development. Although the latest entry in the series suffers from grindy battlepasses, the gameplay on offer earnestly captures the joyful physicality so central to the Halo experience. Warthogs bounce pleasingly as they move across Halo Infinite’s battlefields, while Spartans strafe and weave in a manner reminiscent of only the most satisfying arena shooters of yore.

However, Hintze’s announcement does beg an important question: where does the series go from here? Halo Infinite experimented with an open-world take on the traditional Halo campaign. It felt boldly reminiscent of the more open sections in the original Halo Combat Evolved whilst implementing more modern elements of open-world gameplay; such as the usual waypoint-laden map. 

Halo is at a crossroads. Future content patches could herald a return to the more traditional roots of Infinite’s predecessors or a renewed push into open-world gameplay. Neither move would necessarily be bad, but it’s clear to see how the former could lead to a stagnation of the series while the latter could serve to dilute what makes Halo great in the first place. Regardless of whether or not 343 rises to the challenge, it’ll be interesting to see where the series goes in the coming years. 

• We interviewed Halo Infinite's animators to learn the secrets behind its gorgeous visuals.

Following the announcement that Microsoft plans to cut thousands of jobs, the former Senior Multiplayer Designer for Halo has taken to Twitter to criticize the tech giant.

In a Twitter post, Patrick Wren claimed that Microsoft’s “incompetent leadership” caused stress on developers during the making of Halo Infinite and also resulted in the recent layoffs. 

“The layoffs at 343 shouldn’t have happened, and Halo Infinite should be in a better state,” Wren wrote. “The reason for both of those things is incompetent leadership up top during Halo Infinite development causing massive stress on those working hard to make Halo the best it can be.”

“The people I worked every day with were passionate about Halo and wanted to make something great for the fans,” Wren continued. “They helped push for a better Halo and got laid off for it.”

Microsoft recently announced plans to cut over 10,000 jobs due to fears of a slowing global economy. 343 Industries isn’t the only game studio affected by the cuts, with Starfield developer Bethesda Game Studios also reporting significant layoffs. 

More to come  

Despite Halo Infinite having released in November 2021, developer 343 Industries has still put time and effort into patching Master Chief’s latest adventure post-launch. The final Halo Infinite update for 2022, released in December, was one of the biggest in recent memory and added a new Arena multiplayer map called Empyrean based on the Halo 3 map, The Pit. The close-quarters arena featured two hut-style bases for flags on each side, with opposing towers for snipers and a central hall in the middle. However, 343 changed some elements of the original map to fit Halo Infinite’s style. Scrap Cannons replaced Machine gun turrets at each base, and weapon spawns have been updated to use Halo Infinite’s weapon racks. 

Along with various new armor core unlocks and new cadet coatings, 343 Industries also implemented networking improvements. These updates mean that damage dealt and received by players is now more consistent and manageable, as, in previous builds, it was possible for some Spartans to avoid harm by sliding.

While the future of this beloved series is still uncertain following Microsoft’s layoffs, Bloomberg reported that 343 Industries studio head, Pierre Hintze, reassured colleagues in an email that support for Halo Infinite’s multiplayer will continue. How that support will look, however, remains to be seen.

• Halo Infinite's open world underwent ‘significant scaling back’ for launch

Halo Infinite fans have discovered a way of playing the shooter in splitscreen co-op, after the game mode was officially canned.

While local campaign co-op had previously been announced for Halo Infinite, 343 Industries’ head of creative Joseph Staten confirmed work on the mode had been scrapped in a recent video update. As spotted by Eurogamer, a fan on Twitter discovered a workaround that lets players access the shelved feature.

The nifty menu glitch lets you add other players to your campaign session, so you can play Halo Infinite co-op with a buddy beside you. It only appears to be accessible for players on Xbox Series X|S, leaving PC gamers out of the fun. 

How to play Halo Infinite co-op

To play Halo Infinite in splitscreen co-op you’ll first need to boot up the campaign solo, create a save file, and have a friend waiting in the game’s main menu. They can be idling on a console version of the game or on PC, but must be connected to the Halo online network. From there, follow these steps:

•  Select and load a campaign save file
• As the game starts to load, immediately tap the Xbox Wireless Controller's View Button to bring up the 'Social' menu
• Navigate to the 'Friends' tab, find your buddy who’s idling in the game’s menu, and select to join their fireteam
• Go back to the 'Social' menu, find the fireteam you've just joined, and select to leave
• Navigate to the ‘Server’ settings screen and set the server to ‘Local Offline’
• Connect additional controllers to your console and link them with an Xbox profile, just as you usually would when playing a multiplayer match
• Select ‘Play’ to start

According to Halo fan account Halo Creation, who posted the tutorial online, the workaround is seamless. You should be able to play the campaign with a friend without running into any crashes, AI bugs, or other glitches. According to another player on Reddit, the trick also supports four-player co-op.

Don’t expect the workaround to be about forever, though. As a glitch, it will likely be patched out in a future update, and 343 is unlikely to ever provide an official alternative.

"We’ve had to make the difficult decision to not ship campaign split-screen co-op, and take the resources that we would use on that [to] go after... all of these other things," said Staten in the video update. Those "other things" include quality-of-life updates, live service content, and bug fixes.

Online campaign co-op is still on the table. It’s expected to roll out in the game’s Winter Update period between November 8 and  March 7, overshooting its August release window that was announced after several delays. It’ll be joined by a beta Forge mode, new competitive game mode Covert One Flag, two new multiplayer maps, and a free 30-tier battle pass.

But Halo Infinite's local co-op mode might not have been as impressive as hoped. Online co-op has been available in beta for a few weeks, and while fun, doesn’t keep the campaign fresh. 

• Hogwarts Legacy won’t include quidditch

One of Halo’s key writers and current head of creative at 343 Industries has said he thought series protagonist Master Chief was originally rather bland.

The faceless space marine is one of the most recognizable mascots in gaming, and recently starred in last year’s Halo Infinite on Xbox Series X|S. But Joseph Staten, who served as writer and director of cinematics on Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, and was one of the defining voices behind Master Chief, wasn’t always keen on the character.

“At the end of Halo [Combat Evolved], I felt like Master Chief had limitations,” said Staten, speaking to the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. “If we wanted to tell a deeper story, to expand our world, Master Chief was the least interesting character in the Halo universe.

“Through a combination of technology and the choices we'd made about keeping his face masked, I was pulling my hair out and saying, ‘What can we do with this character?’". 

Enter the Arbiter

Staten says his frustrations with Master Chief’s blandness eventually provided the springboard into Halo 2. The sequel shifts focus from the power-armored super soldier to the Arbiter – a shamed military commander of the Covenant who must atone for failing to stop the events of the first game. He features heavily in Halo 2’s plot and is even introduced as a playable character in its single-player campaign.

“That was the more interesting character,” Staten said. “You've got this hero who cut a bloody swathe through the Covenant. Who's the most interesting character? The one who the Covenant blamed for that disaster. That's where the Arbiter came into being.

“The reason why I was upset with the Master Chief and thought he was the least interesting character in the Halo universe is we'd never put up something in opposition to him that ever felt like a real dramatic blocker; a character that could be an equal partner in this dramatic conflict relationship.

“With the creation of the Arbiter, I began to feel ‘This is clicking now. There's real dramatic opposition here. There's a different point of view, and a villain has his reasons for acting the way that he did.' So everything just started working.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Staten describes how Halo Infinite's open world underwent "significant scaling back" ahead of its launch. Regardless of its final size, you'll soon be able to explore it with a buddy as Halo Infinite co-op is on the horizon.

• Sony is already retiring this PS5 launch feature
  

Halo Infinite’s original open world looked very different, as developer 343 Industries made significant cutbacks and changes during development.

While Halo Infinite was the first entry in the classic sci-fi FPS series to introduce an open environment, its non-linear design underwent several iterations. The world that appears in the final release is a pared-down version of what 343 had originally planned.

“The team went through a lot of iterations on scope and biome variety before I joined,” said 343’s head of creative Joseph Staten, speaking to the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. “Even after I joined the team, we had to make choices about where to scale back.”

A whole new world

Staten said the team didn't have time to create as varied a world as they had originally envisioned while meeting the level of graphical fidelity, detail, and world depth that players have come to expect. Although he thinks they made huge strides from Halo Infinite’s maligned 2020 E3 demo, targeted cuts were necessary.

“We didn’t end up cutting that much ultimately from the open world, but I know from the original designs there was a pretty significant scaling back of what the team had hoped at one point that they could deliver on.

“We knew that we needed to truly deliver a quality experience [and] scope our ambitions to make sure that the stuff that we did ship met expectations.”

But those expectations were themselves tricky to navigate. Although pitched as an open-world experience for the Xbox Series X, Halo Infinite doesn’t include some of the staple features that players might associate with the style. When designing the game, the team was careful not to include mechanics that would sit at thematic odds with the series and its characters.

“We are an open-world game in as much as our game is a lot more open than it used to be,” Staten says. “Halo’s always been a relatively open game in terms of its geometry, for a shooter, but we weren't layering on a whole bunch of systems.

“We talked a lot about crafting, for example, and my infamous line to the team was something like 'Master Chief doesn't need to kill animals to make leather shirts for himself. He's a massive armored super soldier. If he wants something, he goes and kills it, grabs its gun, and then keeps on going.'”

The difference this time around is that you can do that while grapple-hooking across a craggy landscape. You can also do it with a buddy, now that Halo Infinite co-op is here for Xbox Insiders. All that cutting back may well be why Halo Infinite is one of the best Xbox Series X games and a reason to get Game Pass.

• Finding a PS5 is about to get a whole lot easier

If you have fond memories of P.T. then you'll love this recreation of its iconic hallway in Halo Infinite's upcoming Forge mode.

Forge mode in Halo Infinite hasn't officially launched yet. But players with access to an unfinished build are already crafting some truly brilliant creations. And this mock-up of P.T.'s claustrophobic hallway by YouTuber Death Templar is easily one of the most impressive yet.

Death Templar's video showcases P.T.'s dread-filled setting with alarming accuracy. Nondescript pictures hang throughout the hallway, while light sources bounce harshly off the wall.

Forged in hell

P.T. originally launched as a free PS4 game back in 2014. The game was quite infamously delisted by Konami around the time its director, Hideo Kojima, departed the company. Thankfully, P.T.'s true purpose as a teaser for the now-canceled Silent Hills was revealed before then.

This lovingly crafted P.T. recreation in Halo Infinite's Forge mode is far from the only demonstration of its advanced capabilities. Another creator showed that a Call of Duty-style Zombies mode might be possible, for example.

But it seems like you won't necessarily have to grapple with the new Forge's improved scripting elements to make awe-inspiring maps. Death Templar has shown that more immersive horror experience can work, too. All you'll need is the know-how to build an environment using prefabricated parts, some lighting knowledge and a sprinkling of imagination.

Halo Infinite has already wowed with its fantastic campaign and moreish multiplayer offerings. But these Forge mode demos tell me that the best is yet to come for the Xbox Series X|S shooter. I personally can't wait to get absorbed into the new Forge mode to try my hand at building some fun and (hopefully) creative maps.

Halo Infinite's Forge mode still doesn't have a release date. But it seems like 343 Industries isn't shirking its duties for its development. If the early footage we've seen of Forge mode is anything to go by, then I'd say its extended time in the oven has proven to be well worth the wait.

• GTA 6 will feature multiple cities, including Vice City

A couple of leaked Halo Infinite Forge mode videos have our minds racing at the feature's wealth of possibilities.

Halo Infinite's much-anticipated Forge mode still doesn't have a release date. But recently leaked videos show off some seriously promising scripting elements. One shows a Call of Duty-style Zombies mode could be possible, while another showcases a device that turns your guns into... well, better guns (thanks, Wccftech).

The videos, uploaded by YouTuber Helioskrub, show off two very different applications of Halo Infinite Forge mode's potentially deep scripting elements. While neither video is especially granular, they do hint that Halo Infinite could have the most customizable Forge mode to date.

Spartan survival

The first leaked Halo Infinite Forge mode video showcases the player building a makeshift barricade to block a window. As Helioskrub points out, a Call of Duty-style Zombies survival mode might be possible to make in Forge mode.

Of course, that's also banking on players being able to place AI-controlled enemies to pit your survival skills against. But it could also work as a creative spin on Halo's iconic Infection multiplayer mode. Infection pits a team of survivors against 'infected' players, who are typically only able to use melee weapons. If a survivor is killed, they become infected themselves.

A Zombies mode made in Forge would be absolutely perfect for Halo's iconic Flood enemies. Sadly, the zombie-like Flood don't make an appearance in Halo Infinite. But if the new Forge mode does support the placement of AI-controlled actors, we'd love to see Flood assets from Halo: The Master Chief Collection repurposed for Halo Infinite.

Bigger, better guns

The second video shows off a working 'Pack-a-Punch' machine that the player can put their weapons into. By depositing enough points (generated by a separate button for testing purposes), the player can upgrade their weapons to reflect their beefier campaign versions.

Halo Infinite's campaign weapons are vastly more powerful than those found in multiplayer. This could lead to some hilariously broken multiplayer matches with Spartans lighting up arenas with explosive pistols.

The creator notes that creating the Pack-a-Punch machine is actually a lot of work. That's because each weapon needs its own scripting path in order to make the upgrade possible. So, if you wanted to add upgrades for every weapon in the game, you'll probably have a pretty massive scripting task ahead of you.

Bags of potential

What the leaker has shown in the above videos is likely a pretty early build of Halo Infinite's Forge mode. It's fairly buggy and prone to crashing, which we'd like to think will be cleaned up when it comes to the final release.

Traditionally, created Forge mode maps are tied to a 'budget' system. This places a hard cap on the amount of objects you can place on the map. Thanks to the increased power of the Xbox Series X|S, though, Halo Infinite's Forge mode should hopefully allow for a much higher budget cap than previous games.

Unfortunately, we still don't know when Forge mode will come to Halo Infinite. But the game shouldn't be wanting for updates much longer. Halo Infinite's campaign co-op is finally on the horizon, and previously leaked footage shows that the long-awaited mode was likely worth the wait.

• Xbox Series X boot times are about to get much quicker

Halo Infinite’s ongoing desync problems won’t be fixed anytime soon, as developer 343 Industries has prioritized other fixes and improvements.

Desync problems have plagued Halo Infinite since launch, leading to enemy players, vehicles, and weapons occasionally glitching across maps and hits sometimes failing to register. While not game-breaking, the network issue is particularly disruptive to multiplayer melee fights.

But it doesn’t look like a desync fix will be appearing anytime soon. Responding to a Reddit post that highlighted melee collisions are still unreliable, senior sandbox designer Brian Berryhill explained in a comment why players are still encountering the glitch.

“The devs that would work on these fixes have been allocated to other Infinite work,” Berryhill said. “Their work has had some knock-on benefit to our UCN [networking] solution, especially around movers (players, vehicles, etc.) on object devices (elevators, pistons, bridges etc.), but not around the melee and "around the wall" shots. These devs are coming home to Sandbox soon (hopefully).”

Although a wholesale desync fix might not be actively in development, Berryhill went on to say it was “high on our priority of fixes”.

melee_andor_player_collision_is_still_incredibly from r/halo

Waiting around

Desync has been something of a sticking point among Halo Infinite fans, who have consistently aired their frustration with the issue since the game launched late last year. A particularly egregious example of the bug made waves on the Halo Infinite subreddit several months ago, leading to Berryhill acknowledging the problem. Back then, they said Infinite's networking team was working to resolve the issue in its latest internal builds.

That resolution hasn’t appeared as quickly as Berryhill or Infinite players would have liked. For a live-service title that sells itself as both pushing the Halo brand forward and harking back to the nostalgic days of competitive multiplayer, a consistent bug is enough to sour players’ perception of the game.

As the many responses on Reddit show, players aren’t best pleased that desync is still knocking about six months after launch. The idea that it's not an important enough bug to warrant the developer's current attention has particularly rubbed some fans the wrong way. At least they can be hopeful that Halo Infinite’s upcoming co-op mode is shaping up. 

Halo Infinite co-op has appeared on the horizon. A multiplayer-friendly version of the campaign mode is expected to launch in August later this year, but some lucky players will have the opportunity to jump in early through a hands-on beta.

Developer 343 Industries announced the Halo Infinite playtest in a tweet. If you’re signed up for the Halo Insider program, you’ll get the chance to play the game’s co-op update a month early and jump into its open world with a buddy. 

The beta only extends to “network co-op”, though, so don’t expect to play split-screen. 343 Industries has said that Halo Infinite will support four-player online co-op when the mode rolls out in August, but local two-player co-op is expected to launch with Season 3 in November.

Halo Infinite’s campaign co-op has been a long time coming. It was absent when the game launched late last year, with 343 initially expecting to add the feature alongside the release of Halo Infinite Season 2. That didn’t happen, though, as the studio delayed the update to fine-tune its features. Hopefully, this means it will run super smoothly when it finally leaves beta.

Halo Infinite co-op beta

How to sign up for the Halo Infinite co-op Beta

If you want to jump into Halo Infinite’s campaign co-op early, you’ll need to join the Halo Insider program. It’s similar to Microsoft’s Xbox Insider scheme, letting participants test upcoming Halo services and game modes through hands-on playtests, and provide feedback to help shape the future of the franchise.

Fortunately, signing up for the scheme is dead easy, just head to the Halo Insider website and click the big “Join Halo Insider” button. You’ll be asked to sign in through your Xbox account and select your Halo playtest preferences. Make sure to opt for either “Console Flighting” or “PC Flighting” (or both), for the chance to take part in hands-on playtests.

If you’re signing up for console playtests, you’ll need to note down what console, controller, display, and audio system you’re using to play. However, if you're trying to get in on the PC beta you’ll need to share your hardware specs on the sign-up page. Don't worry, it walks you through how to do that.

However, even fully-fledged Halo Insider members aren’t guaranteed a place in Halo Infinite’s co-op playtest. You’ll only be considered for entry. To increase your chances of being picked, make sure your profile is up to date and accurate. 

What to expect from the Halo Infinite co-op beta

Those lucky enough to gain access to the co-op beta will be treated to a slight twist on the traditional Halo Infinite campaign formula. Up to four players can battle through Halo Infinite's campaign together. Teammates are able to make shared progress through missions, and team up to collect Skulls and other desirable collectibles. 

Don't stray too far from your buddies, though. Players who venture more than 1,000 feet from their allies are punished for their desertion with instant death. Plus, the new co-op campaign mode currently uses friendly fire, so you'll want to stay on your team's good side. 

You will also be able to use Mission Replay to revisit old content. Thanks to this feature, you and your band of Spartans will be able to return to old missions with all of your shiny new upgrades and toys.

Though spaces aren't guaranteed, there's no reason not to sign up for your chance at Halo Infinite co-op bliss. Perhaps, like Chief himself, you'll be favored by that most elusive of qualities: luck. 

• Want some great gaming experiences while you wait for Halo Infinite co-op's release? Why not read up on our list of the best Xbox Series X games

Halo Infinite brought an emotional end to Master Chief's current storyline last year, but it turns out it wasn't just fans who were moved by the game's narrative.  

In an exclusive interview with TechRadar Gaming, we spoke to several staff members at CounterPunch - a Virtuos Studio. For the unfamiliar, CounterPunch worked as a support studio alongside 343 Industries during Halo Infinite's development, stepping in to help on the game once motion capture and cinematic development were finished. 

Asking if CounterPunch had any development insights they could share, the team's animation supervisor Kyle Renteria shared a small tidbit about Jen Taylor, who is best known for portraying Cortana, The Weapon, and Dr. Halsey. 

Renteria explained how Halo Infinite's actors, including Taylor, put everything into their performances.

"Something fascinating to us that Halo fans may not be aware of is just how much the actors put into their roles. Jen Taylor, for example, would shed tears during some of the more emotional moments," said Renteria.

Lead animator Mason Gardner also shared that team wanted to ensure those powerful moments were portrayed effectively in-game. "We did our best to really try to capture their performances and translate them into the characters," said Gardner.

Emotionally charged

Speaking further with Gardner and Renteria, we asked what technology CounterPunch used to convey The Pilot's convincing facial expressions, who is arguably one of the most emotive characters in the game. 

"The Pilot was one of our favorite characters to work on! He was such an expressive character. This gave us a good range of emotions to play with," said Gardner "Our company is highly skilled in FACS (Facial Acting Coding System) based facial animation and this core background competency allowed us to really understand the movement of the face."

"Since the rigging of the character used a FACS-based rigging system, we were able to create realistic movements and expressions that helped us gain realistic and believable performances," Renteria explained. 

The team shared some great insights into the technical process behind Halo Infinite's cinematics with TechRadar Gaming, so be sure to keep an eye out for further details. We'll be bringing you our full interview with CounterPunch soon.

• Did you know Halo Infinite's multiplayer once looked like Overwatch? It could've been a very different experience

Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries will be rolling out a handful of major fixes for the shooter in its next update, and reverse several poorly received changes that were made to skill jumps following the release of Season 2.

Skill jumps are essentially movement exploits that allow players to navigate Halo Infinite's multiplayer maps faster and reach areas they ordinarily couldn’t. Although unintended features of the game’s design, they’ve become staple mechanics of the multiplayer shooter's competitive community, and many fans were upset when the most popular jumps were removed in Season 2.

Writing in a blog post on Halo Waypoint, community manager John Junyszek said the team had received “overwhelmingly strong feedback from players” about the jumps and felt the team had “made a mistake” in removing them. In response to the blowback, four jumps will be reintroduced: the key door and house panel jump from Live Fire, the double door jump in Bazaar, the pizza jump in Streets, and the P side edges on Aquarius.

Junyszek said the jumps on Live Fire, Bazaar, and Streets are a “1-to-1 roll-back”, although the jump on Aquarius will be adjusted to be more predictable by clearly indicating its collision paths. That’s a big move by 343; not only is the studio reverting a gameplay change off the back of fan feedback, but it's deliberately altering an unintended glitch to make it more easily accessible and balanced.

“We do our best to analyze the trade-offs of different strategies, the movement of players through the levels and the cost or ‘friction’ of traversal in different combat scenarios,” Junyszek said. “In conjunction, we strive to create environments that offer a fine-tuned risk and reward experience and clearly communicate the movement opportunities in the combat space.

“Players have made it clear that our analysis of these jumps was off target, and we value the feedback.”

Junyszek goes on to say that the Halo Infinite development team will continue tweaking skill jumps. It wants to embrace the exploits rather than remove them altogether, thereby letting the community continue to enjoy them but preventing the glitches from throwing the game off balance.

Them changes

The blog post also says the development team has identified the root cause of Halo Infinite’s weapon jamming glitch. The bug prevents players from firing their guns – as if the weapons were physically jammed – and should be fixed in the next update.

The upcoming patch will also reintroduce the Tank Gun to the game’s campaign after much fan outcry. The powerful weapon is particularly popular among speedrunners who use its unlimited ammo and massive damage to breeze through the game’s enemies.

The next update will introduce a bunch of other, minor fixes, too, including stability improvements for PC, fixes for a bug that has stopped players from capturing zones in King of the Hill, and tweaks to vehicle spawn rates. The new Last Spartan Standing game mode – which is akin to a mini Battle Royale – is also getting tweaked, with equipment pods now featuring all equipment rather than just power gear.

As for when the upcoming update will actually roll out, Junyszek says we can expect more details on its release in the next few days.

• Keen to shoot something else? Check out the best FPS games

Halo Infinite Season 2 is almost here and set to bring a hefty slate of new content. With the major update due to drop soon, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with exactly when you can get stuck into its new maps and modes. Fortunately, then, 343 Industries has unveiled when the second season will launch in each region.

There’s plenty to get excited about. Halo Infinite Season 2 Lone Wolves is set to introduce a bunch of additional multiplayer maps and modes, alongside a new Halo Infinite Battle Pass to progress through. Classics like King of the Hill will be returning, alongside Last Spartan Standing – which looks suspiciously like a battle royale.

That’s especially pleasing because this second season will be sticking around for longer than many had expected. It’ll be six months before Halo Infinite Season 3 rolls out, meaning we'll be waiting a while for several much-anticipated – and much-delayed – features like campaign co-op and Forge mode to appear. In the meantime, get comfortable with new maps Breaker and Catalyst, because you’ll be seeing them for a while yet.

Halo Infinite Season 2 release times

Halo Infinite Season 2 Lone Wolves will release on May 3 for most of the world. We’ve rounded up its release time for the major time zones below.

• 11am PT
• 2pm ET
• 7pm BST
• 8pm CEST
• 4am AEST (May 4)

Count yourself lucky if you’re in the US. Season 2 will unlock during your daytime, letting you download and install the update before you clock off work. 

Europeans don’t have it so good, however. If you're in the UK or the mainland, you’ll have to wait until evening to hop into the update.

For Australians, Season 2 will drop in the early morning of May 4. You might see that as a bad thing, with the update effectively releasing a day later for you. Or, you could see it as an opportunity to get a couple of hours in before you leave for work.

Remember, multiplayer servers will be down the hour before the update goes live, so don't expect to hop online during that time. 

• Did you know one Halo Infinite player managed to run the game on an ebook reader?

If you’ve been keen to sample the new Halo TV show without losing pennies to a Paramount Plus subscription, now is your chance to do so. 

The good folks over at Paramount studios have decided to make the first episode of the video game-inspired series, titled Contact, available to watch on YouTube free of charge until April 7.

Anyone living in a region where Paramount Plus is currently available (so the US, Australia, Canada, Latin America and the Nordics) can make use of this limited time promotion, though audiences elsewhere will have to wait a little longer for Halo’s small screen debut. 

Eligible viewers can watch the full series premiere via the link below:

A nine-episode adaptation of two-decades-old game franchise, Paramount's big-budget TV series follows the exploits of Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced super-soldier tasked with defending humanity from alien baddies the Covenant in the 26th century.

Having begun streaming on March 24, early reviews of the show were decidedly mixed, with some describing Halo as “an intriguing mess” and others calling it “solid enough to break the video game adaptation curse.”

In our own assessment of the Paramount Plus series, we said that – while visually impressive – it falls into the trap of pandering to both die-hard video game fans and everyday audiences, ultimately resulting in an imbalanced sci-fi adventure that struggles to please either party.

That being said, the series’ so-so reviews shouldn’t deter prospective fans from judging Halo for themselves, especially as its first episode is now available to stream for free.

As mentioned, though, UK viewers will have to wait until later in 2022 to catch Halo on Sky and Now TV, when Paramount Plus launches as part of the former, but, in the mean time, here's our guide on how to watch the Halo TV series online wherever you are right now.

Analysis: try before you buy

Not only does this limited time partnership with YouTube give fans the chance to sample the Halo TV show for free, but it also provides an opportunity for Paramount Plus to flex its muscles as a burgeoning new streaming service.

As the likes of Netflix, Disney Plus and HBO Max press on with growing libraries and subscriber bases, Paramount Plus is only now beginning to show its hand as a real player in the online entertainment market.

Recently, the streamer’s parent company, ViacomCBS, re-branded to Paramount Global (or, more simply, Paramount) in an effort to generate more name recognition for the company’s centerpiece studio. The announcement also came alongside a commitment to investing more than $6 billion in new streaming content over the next two years, with Paramount hoping its still-young streaming service will have surpassed 100 million subscribers by 2024. 

To achieve that figure, the storied entertainment studio is banking on the appeal of its myriad franchises. In addition to the Halo TV show, Paramount Plus subscribers can soon look forward to a Knuckles-focused Sonic series and exclusivity benefits for movie franchises including Mission: Impossible, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and A Quiet Place.

So, while the middling success of Halo may not have provided the flying start studio bosses had hoped for, Paramount Plus is definitely on track to disrupt the streaming competition in the near future. 

• Want to try Paramount Plus for yourself? These are today's best deals
• The Best Paramount Plus shows: from Halo to The Good Fight

The best Paramount+ shows are found by sorting through the streaming platform’s vast library. Luckily for you, we’ve already done that, with shows spanning the gamut of genres including cult classic comedies, adult animations, Western dramas, romantic dramedies, and much more.

Paramount+ offers not only fan favorites, but their own original content, which makes it one of the best streaming services around. New titles are added to the Paramount+ library every month, so if you want an idea of what's recently been added, check out these five new movies with over 92% on Rotten Tomatoes or everything new on Paramount+ in June, as well as the best Paramount+ movies if you're wanting something longer to watch.

Of course, the epic rebranding from CBS All Access to Paramount+ has had a part to play in the platform’s growing success but, by also offering a lot of content to viewers, it’s certainly found a way into our homes and hearts. So, whether it’s something old or something brand new, here are the best Paramount+ shows to stream today.

Best animated shows on Paramount+

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Seasons: 3
Age rating: TV-Y7 (US); U (UK); PG (Aus)
Main cast: Jack De Sena, Zach Tyler Eisen, Dante Basco, and Michaela Jill Murphy
Creators: Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko
RT score: 100%

• Watch Avatar: The Last Airbender on Paramount+ now
• Watch the Avatar: The Last Airbender trailer on YouTube

The Legend of Korra

Seasons: 4
Age rating: TV-Y7 (US); U (UK); PG (Aus)
Main cast: Janet Varney, David Faustino, P. J. Byrne, and Logan Wells
Creators: Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko
RT score: 89%

• Watch The Legend of Korra on Paramount+ now
• Watch The Legend of Korra trailer on YouTube

Daria

Seasons: 5
Age rating: TV-PG (US); PG (UK); PG (Aus)
Main cast: Janet Varney, David Faustino, P. J. Byrne, and Logan Wells
Creators: Glenn Eichler & Susie Lewis Lynn
RT score: 94% (Season one)

• Watch Daria on Paramount+ now

Best action shows on Paramount+

Halo

Seasons: 2
Age rating: TV-14 (US); 15 (UK); MA15+ (Aus)
Main cast: Pablo Schreiber, Shabana Azmi, Yerin Ha, and Olive Gray
Creators: Kyle Killen and Steven Kane
RT score: 80%

• Watch Halo on Paramount+ now
• Watch the Halo trailer on YouTube

SEAL Team

Seasons: 6 (only two seasons available in UK)
Age rating: TV-14 (US); 15 (UK); MA15+ (Aus)
Main cast: David Boreanaz, Max Thieriot, AJ Buckley, and Toni Trucks
Creator: Benjamin Cavell
RT score: 83% (audience)

• Watch SEAL Team on Paramount+ now
• Watch the SEAL Team trailer on YouTube

Best comedy shows on Paramount+

Cheers

Seasons: 11
Age rating: TV-PG (US); 12 (UK); PG (Aus)
Main cast: Shelley Long, Ted Danson, George Wendt, and Rhea Perlman
Creators: Glen and Les Charles, James Burrows
RT score: 87%

• Watch Cheers on Paramount+ now
• Watch the Cheers trailer on YouTube

Frasier

Seasons: 12 (including 2023 revival)
Age rating: TV-PG (US); 12 (UK); PG (Aus)
Main cast: Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leeves, David Hyde Pierce, and John Mahoney
Creators: David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee
RT score: 95%

• Watch Frasier on Paramount+ now
• Watch the Frasier trailer on YouTube

Freaks and Geeks

Seasons: 1
Age rating: TV-14 (US); 12 (US); M (Aus)
Main cast: Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, Martin Starr, Jason Segel, and James Franco
Creator: Paul Feig
RT score: 100%

• Watch Freaks and Geeks on Paramount+ now
• Watch the Freaks and Geeks trailer on YouTube

Why Women Kill

Seasons: 3
Age rating: TV-MA (US); 15 (UK); M (Aus)
Main cast: Lucy Liu, Ginnifer Goodwin, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Alexandra Daddario, Sam Jaeger
Creator: Marc Cherry
RT score: 76%

• Watch Why Women Kill on Paramount+ now
• Watch the Why Women Kill trailer on YouTube

Best drama shows on Paramount+

Billions

Seasons: 7
Age rating: TV-MA (US)
Main cast: Paul Giamatti, Damian Lewis, Maggie Siff and David Costabile.
Creators: Brian Koppelman, David Levien and Andrew Ross Sorkin
RT score: 87%

• Watch Billions on Paramount+ now
• Watch the Billions trailer

School Spirits

Seasons: 2
Age rating: TV-MA (US); 15 (UK); M (Aus)
Main cast: Peyton List, Milo Manheim, Sarah Yarkin, and Spencer MacPherson Creators: Megan Trinrud and Nate Trinrud
RT score: 83%

• Watch School Spirits on Paramount+ now
• Watch the School Spirits trailer on YouTube

The Curse

Seasons: 1
Age rating: TV-MA (US); 13+ (Aus); TBC (UK)
Main cast: Nathan Fielder, Emma Stone, and Benny Safdie
Creators: Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie
RT score: 93%

• Watch The Curse on Paramount+ now
• Watch The Curse trailer on YouTube

The Good Wife

Seasons: 7
Age rating: TV-14 (US); 12 (UK); M (Aus)
Main cast: Julianna Margulies, Matt Czuchry, Archie Panjabi, and Graham Phillips
Creators: Robert King and Michelle King
RT score: 93%

• Watch The Good Wife on Paramount+ now
• Watch The Good Wife trailer on YouTube

The Good Fight

Seasons: 6
Age rating: TV-14 (US); 15 (UK); M (Aus)
Main cast: Christine Baranski, Cush Jumbo, Sarah Steele, and Rose Leslie
Creators: Robert King, Michelle King, and Phil Alden Robinson
RT score: 95%

• Watch The Good Fight on Paramount+ now
• Watch The Good Fight trailer on YouTube

Tulsa King

Seasons: 1
Age rating: TV-MA (US); 15 (UK); M (Aus)
Main cast: Sylvester Stallone, Andrea Savage, Martin Starr, and Jay Will
Creator: Taylor Sheridan
RT score: 89%

• Watch Tulsa King on Paramount+ now
• Watch the Tulsa King trailer on YouTube

Twin Peaks

Seasons: 3
Age rating: M
Main cast: Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Mädchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook and Richard Beymer
Creator: Mark Frost and David Lynch
RT score: 91% (season 1)

• Watch Twin Peaks on Paramount+ now
• Watch the Twin Peaks trailer

Yellowstone

Seasons: 5
Age rating: TV-MA (US); 15 (UK); MA15+ (Aus)
Main cast: Kevin Costner, Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, and Luke Grimes
Creators: Taylor Sheridan and John Linson
RT score: 84%

• Watch Yellowstone on Paramount+ now
• Watch the Yellowstone trailer on YouTube

1883

Seasons: 1
Age rating: TV-MA (US); 15 (UK); MA15+ (Aus)
Main cast: Sam Elliott, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and Isabel May
Creator: Taylor Sheridan
RT score: 89%

• Watch 1883 on Paramount+ now
• Watch the 1883 trailer on YouTube

Best fantasy shows on Paramount+

The Twilight Zone

Seasons: 5
Age rating: TV-14 (US); 12 (UK); M (Aus)
Main cast: Rod Serling, William Shatner, and Robert McCord
Creator: Rod Serling
RT score: 92%

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Aeon Flux

Seasons: 3 (only one season available in the US)
Age rating: TV-14 (US); 15 (UK); M (Aus)
Main cast: Denise Poirier and John Rafter Lee
Creator: Paul Chung
RT score: 90%

• Watch Aeon Flux on Paramount+ now
• Watch the Aeon Flux trailer on YouTube

Best romance shows on Paramount+

Colin from Accounts

Seasons: 2 (only season one available on Paramount+ currently)
Age rating: TV-MA (US)
Main cast: Harriet Dyer, Patrick Brammall, Zak Feddersen, and Emma Harvie
Creators: Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall
RT score: 100%

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Fellow Travelers

Seasons: 1
Age rating: TV-MA (US); 15 (UK); MA15+ (Aus)
Main cast: Jonathan Bailey, Matt Bomer, Allison Williams, and Jelani Alladin
Creator: Ron Nyswaner
RT score: 91%

• Watch Fellow Travelers on Paramount+ now
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Best sci-fi shows on Paramount+

Star Trek: The Original Series

Seasons: 3
Age rating: TV-PG (US); PG (UK); M (Aus)
Main cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols, and George Takei
Creator: Gene Roddenberry
RT score: 80%

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Star Trek: Picard

Seasons: 3
Age rating: TV-14 (US); 15 (UK); MA15+ (Aus)
Main cast: Patrick Stewart, Alison Pill, Isa Briones, and Michelle Hurd
Creators: Akiva Goldsman, Michael Chabon, Kirsten Beyer, and Alex Kurtzman
RT score: 89%

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Best thriller shows on Paramount+

Yellowjackets

Seasons: 2
Age rating: TV-MA (US); 15 (UK); MA15+ (Aus)
Main cast: Ella Purnell, Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, and Sophie Thatcher
Creators: Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson
RT score: 96%

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Evil

Seasons: 4
Age rating: TV-14 (US); MA15+ (Aus)
Main cast: Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, and Kurt Fuller
Creators: Robert King and Michelle King
RT score: 96%

• Watch Evil on Paramount+ now
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How we choose the best Paramount+ shows

Paramount+ has thousands of shows on offer from CBS, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, and more – but not all of them are the best. To earn the title of being the best Paramount+ show, each series must have a Rotten Tomatoes score of 80% or higher and be recommended by a member of the TechRadar streaming team.

There's a constant swathe of new content being added to the streaming platform every month, but you can rely on the entertainment experts to keep you updated with the best titles worth watching. So check this list every month to see what's been added or removed if they don't fit the criteria.

If you're interested in subscribing to Paramount+, you can find out how much Paramount+ costs and check out our latest Paramount+ coverage to see all the latest news on the platform.

The second season of Paramount's Halo TV show should enter full production "before too long", according to executive producer Kiki Wolfkill.

Speaking exclusively to TechRadar, Wolfkill – who oversees Halo's transmedia productions for 343 Industries – revealed that season 2 of the Paramount Plus sci-fi series was still early in development.

The Halo TV series was renewed for a second season in February, with Fear the Walking Dead executive producer David Wiener replacing Steven Kane as showrunner. However, it could be a while before the next entry in the Halo TV show arrives on Paramount's streaming platform, with season 2 currently rooted in pre-production territory.

Asked if she could provide an update on how season 2's development was going, Wolfkill told us: "We're early-ish [in the development cycle]. I think we kind of ploughed ahead in the hope we would get greenlit for another outing.

"You know, not unlike a game you finish, you immediately have lots of things we want to do. People are exhausted but also excited to take forward what we learned [on season 1] or the ideas we didn't get to implement. So we're aiming towards getting back into production before too long, and we're super thankful for the renewal."

Yerin Ha, who portrays new character Kwan Ha in the Halo TV show, added that she and her fellow cast members had no idea about when filming on season 2 would begin.

"I think they're already in pre production," Ha told TechRadar. "But we have no word on when filming will happen. Hopefully, it'll be pretty soon."

The Halo TV series will make landfall on Paramount Plus on Thursday, March 24 in the US. Critical reception to the live-action adaptation of the beloved first-person shooter videogame series has been mixed ahead of launch. Meanwhile, long-time Halo fans have hit out at the show's deviation from the source material, such as the news that Master Chief's face will be revealed and his AI companion Cortana undergoing a significant redesign, following the first trailer's release.

Pablo Schreiber, who plays Master Chief/John-117 in the TV adaptation, exclusively told TechRadar that revealing Chief's face is "the only choice". Fans, though, are yet to be convinced.

We won't know how well Halo's TV adaptation will be received by fans until its release later this week. Regardless of how well (or bad) it does, Halo season 2 is definitely on the way.

For more Halo TV show-based content, check out why we think Paramount's live-action series has an identity problem. Alternatively, read up on how the show fits into the wider Halo universe and our Halo Infinite review.

• Here's our review of Paramount Plus

“Who is this TV show or movie for?” – it’s a question that studio executives, writers, directors, and producers need to ask themselves before embarking on a new project. It’s a crucial one to answer, too. Understanding your target audience is vital not only for the creative process, but also for a movie or show’s potential success. 

That’s particularly true for live-action adaptations of beloved video game franchises. Indulge long-time fans only, and your fan service-y project won’t appeal to general audiences. Craft something with a broader range of viewers in mind, though, and you’re likely to alienate established fans, just like the Tom Holland-starring Uncharted movie did.

The Halo TV series doesn't fall into either category, but it commits a far greater sin as a result: it doesn’t know who its core audience is. Paramount Plus’ live-action adaptation of Xbox’s iconic video game series has spent the past seven years in development hell. During that time, you would’ve expected its chief creative team to determine who they’ve created the TV series for. 

Disappointingly, that’s not the case. Halo’s TV adaptation falls into the trap of pandering to both camps – that is, diehard fans and everyday audiences. Subsequently, it’s an imbalanced and lackluster sci-fi adventure – based on its first two episodes, at least – that will struggle to please either party.

• Watch Halo TV series online from anywhere

Wake up, John

Set in the year 2552, the Halo TV series follows John-117/Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber), a Spartan-II soldier who leads humanity’s fight against an alien threat known as the Covenant.

After Master Chief and Silver Team – the Spartan squad he leads – defeat an Elite Covenant scouting party on the planet Madrigal, the group discovers a mysterious object that could hold the key to ending the Human-Covenant war. As each army vies for control of the intriguing item, though, a shock revelation leaves Master Chief questioning not only the mission he’s been assigned but also himself.

This opening narrative salvo is the show’s most glaring issue, and is the root cause behind its identity crisis. For starters, viewers unfamiliar with the Halo universe won’t know who Master Chief is. Or what the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) is. Or that the Covenant comprises multiple alien species, hence their different physical appearances.

Sure, filling the first episode with reams of plot and character exposition would be a bad move on the part of the show’s chief creative team. The narrative would move at a glacial pace, character introductions would feel forced, and action sequences may take a backseat to any ‘here’s what you need to know about the Halo universe’ explanations.

There’s no denying, though, that some viewers will be confused about multiple aspects of the TV series’ plot, plus the history of the wide franchise. What’s the Spartan super-soldier program? Why is humanity at war with itself before the Covenant’s arrival compels them to join forces? How come Master Chief is so revered among the UNSC’s military and despised by the Elite warriors that call him “demon”? 

Such queries are sure to be answered, for those new to the Halo universe, as the season progresses. But, for a show that needs to grab viewers’ attention – and keep it, especially when there’s so much competition from Netflix and other streamers' immeasurable amount of content – Halo isn’t exactly forthcoming with key information early on.

Long-time Halo fans may feel similarly let down by the show’s story. This isn’t a beat-for-beat retread of the games’ overarching narrative. Instead, the Halo TV series exists on the Silver Timeline – an alternate reality that borrows heavily from the mainline games, with Halo’s plot told from a new but not necessarily improved perspective.

Making changes to the plot from Halo's game series, though, doesn't mean that the TV adaptation is absolved of criticism. Master Chief, for example, doesn’t emerge from cryosleep to fight off invading Covenant forces on the Pillar of Autumn as he does in 2001’s Halo: Combat Evolved. Here, he’s introduced as the savior of a Madrigal-based outpost, which is hopelessly outgunned by the Elite scouting party. It’s a crowd-pleasing introduction but, for a series that focuses on John-117’s journey, delaying his arrival until the premiere’s second quarter is an odd decision to make. We’re introduced to original characters, such as Kwan Ha (Yerin Ha), before Master Chief and other prominent individuals including Doctor Catherine Halsey (Natascha McElhone), too. Halo fanatics may find that hard to stomach, even if Kwan is a welcome addition to proceedings.

Other source material deviations have further exasperated Halo’s fanbase ahead of release. The redesign for Master Chief’s AI companion Cortana (Jen Taylor), plus Charlie Murphy’s Makee – a human who works alongside the Covenant – are two creative changes that have drawn ire from die-hard fans. The revelation that Master Chief removes his helmet to show his face has similarly led to fan outcry, despite lead star Pablo Schreiber’s defense of such a move. Even the planet Reach, which is decimated by the Covenant before the events of Combat Evolved in the games, is untouched at the start of Paramount’s Halo series.

Taking creative liberties with movie and TV adaptations are part of the development process. What works in a video game may not necessarily translate well to the big or small screen, so altering portions of Halo’s lore were bound to happen. Reshaping such key elements from the game series, though, will be sacrilegious to many Halo fans.

'I need a weapon'

These sweeping changes are a crying shame, too, when you consider how much love, care, and attention has gone into the TV show's other aspects. Make no mistake, the production value is very impressive. Paramount’s live-action adaptation reportedly cost between $90 million and $200 million to make – and, regardless of which figure is closer to the truth, it shows.

If the show’s narrative changes make (or will make) established fans bristle, the faithful recreations of Halo’s weapons and vehicles are sure to raise a smile. From assault rifles and jeep-like warthogs to battle rifles, and from Covenant phantom ships to chainguns and the armor that each Spartan wears, those behind Halo’s TV series have lovingly replicated central elements of the mainline games. The designs of each Covenant race, such as the Prophets and Elites, have also been authentically copied over from the games – although, the Elites do look a bit more brute-ish than they do in the first-person shooter series.

The sheer amount of Halo game references and Easter eggs present in the TV adaptation is highly satisfying, too. Sound files, such as the Elites’ ‘wut wut’ call and the depleted Spartan shield warning noise, have been carried over from the games and used correctly here. Characters occasionally dual-wield weapons as players could in Halo 2, while other ordnance items, including the Elites’ cloaking device, also make appearances. Taylor’s voicing of Cortana – the iconic role she reprises from the games – and the legendary Halo theme have a place in the TV show. There are even references to Halo’s expanded universe from the novels, such as the asteroid belt-bound location known as The Rubble.

All of these elements, and so much more besides, make it more galling that Paramount, 343 Industries, and Amblin Television didn’t lean further into the fan-centric angle of the Halo TV series’ production. Major Halo fans would enjoy it far more if it had, even if it meant that the show sidelined general audiences in favor of Halo’s primary fanbase. I certainly would have appreciated it, and relished the fact that a live-action adaptation of one of my favorite game series did justice to its expansive source material.

It’s rare for film or TV adaptations to strike a satisfying balance between different audiences. Netflix’s Arcane is an example of how to get this right; a show that simultaneously honors what’s come before while making its story accessible to newcomers. 

The Halo TV series, though, doesn’t succeed at either. Its significant source material deviations mean that long-time fans will grumble at its unnecessary changes, while general viewers may not be able to fully engage with its scattergun approach to storytelling.

There are parts of Halo’s TV show that are good. Its production value is second to none, Schreiber’s Master Chief is a wonderful take on a character made famous by Steve Downes in the games, and its action is thrilling and tense on occasion. It doesn’t shy away from Halo’s penchant for gratuitous violence, either.

Still, this exclusive Paramount Plus series feels like a missed opportunity. Weighed down by fan expectations that grew exponentially during its lengthy development cycle, it could’ve been so much better than the sum of its parts. Sure, a second season has already been greenlit, so these teething issues can be ironed out in future episodes. If they are, Halo's TV adaptation may be salvageable. It remains to be seen, though, if the TV show’s Master Chief, just like his video game counterpart, will be given more time after season 2 airs to finish the fight.

The Halo TV series launches exclusively on Paramount Plus on Thursday, March 24.

• Check out our review of Halo: Infinite

Halo star Pablo Schreiber has addressed fans' concerns about Master Chief removing his helmet in the TV adaptation.

Speaking exclusively to TechRadar, Schreiber claimed that the decision to show John-117's face is necessary to help audiences empathise with the Spartan-II soldier.

Halo's diehard fanbase has criticised the sweeping changes that have been made for Paramount Plus' live-action adaptation of the beloved videogame series. Fans were quick to voice their displeasure over Cortana's redesign just hours after the show's first teaser arrived. And, after 343 Industries' Head of Transmedia Kiki Wolfkill confirmed that Chief's face would be shown during the TV series (per IGN), fans expressed further frustration at the creative decisions that had been taken.

Schreiber, though, isn't concerned by fans' backlash to John-117 removing his helmet for the Halo TV series. And, while the American Gods and Defending Jacob actor revealed that he "respects the opinions" of those who disagree with the move, he believes that the face reveal is essential for viewers to emotionally connect with Master Chief.

"One thing I learned very early on is that there's as many different opinions in the Halo universe as there are Halo fans," Schreiber said. "So obviously, you're not going to be able to please everybody. But what I would say is that we are tailoring an entertainment experience that's tailored to the medium that it's for.

"When you play a first person shooter, the way that a character is developed is very different than what's necessary when you're making long form television. To go on this journey with your protagonist, you're not going to be able to bring an audience along in a long form story without having access to a character's face, which tells you what they're feeling, how they think about everything. That access to a character's emotional life, over the course of time, is what makes you empathise and connect with a character.

"I'm sorry, but it's the only choice for long form storytelling in television. What I would say to anybody who disagrees with that, I totally respect that opinion. But it's a pretty basic place to start when you're talking about making a television show of quality."

Interestingly, the Halo TV series isn't the first time that we've seen John-117's face. The legendary videogame character is seen sans helmet in Halo: The Fall of Reach, an animated miniseries that accompanied copies of Halo 5: Guardians' Limited Edition in 2015. Admittedly, it's John's face as a child before he enters the Spartan program and becomes Master Chief, but it still counts.

There's also a blink and you'll miss it moment in Halo 4's legendary ending cutscene, which offers a close-up shot of John-117's world-weary eyes. Sure, it doesn't reveal his full face, but we get an idea of how he looks, based on his pale, white skin and the crow's feet around his eyes.

Despite these previous reveals, fans aren't happy that Master Chief's full face will be on show, even if the show exists in a separate timeline to the mainline games. The Halo TV series is still "rooted in canon" (per IGN), mind you, so it's understandable why many fans are against the idea of seeing John-117 remove his helmet.

Disney and Lucasfilm have proved it's possible to build a popular show around a helmeted character – just look at the success of The Mandalorian. The parallels end there, though, with Pedro Pascal's Din Djarin a wholly original character for the Star Wars TV show, whereas Master Chief is the beloved and established protagonist of a fan-favorite videogame series. The jury, then, is out on whether Master Chief's face reveal is a worthwhile endeavor.

For more Halo TV series-based content, check out our reviews round-up for the show. And check back in with TechRadar this weekend for our spoiler-free thoughts on its first two episodes.

• Here's how much it costs to buy a Paramount Plus subscription

Given our passion for gaming here at TechRadar, we’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Paramount Plus' Halo TV show – and the initial critical reactions are in. 

Suffice to say, the first bona fide small screen adaptation of the beloved Xbox franchise hasn’t set the world alight. Among a smattering of praise for the show’s action sequences, most outlets have suggested that a pre-existing knowledge of Master Chief and company is a necessity for its narrative to make any sense to viewers. Conversely, though, it seems like existing Halo fans may not find enough here to warrant the time investment, either.  

Below, we’ve rounded up the critical responses to the first episode (and in some cases, first two entries) of the Halo TV show. We’ll be publishing our own impressions of the series very soon, too, so stay tuned to TechRadar for the low-down. 

Let’s kick off with The Hollywood Reporter. Eager to assess how Halo “functions as a television series, nothing more or less,” reviewer Daniel Fienberg said the show “has a generic story, limitedly engaging characters and a clearly high special effects budget that yields respectable but unremarkable results. In the absence of prior attachment, that’s insufficient for ongoing interest.”

Even on the matter of special effects, Fienberg wasn’t bowled over. “If you’re making a sci-fi world-building comparison, there isn’t a second here that comes close to what something like Apple TV+’s Foundation delivered on a weekly basis,” he wrote.

Variety’s Caroline Framke was a little more forgiving, leading with the opinion that Halo “feels less awe-inspiring than familiar.” 

“It isn’t the fault of [the show],” she wrote, “that it comes on the heels of a plethora of TV and streaming options that look and feel similar enough to lessen its ability to shock and awe.”

Still, Framke had kind words to say about certain camera techniques used: “Director Otto Bathurst periodically swoops behind [the Spartans] and into their helmets [...] This viewfinder perspective mimics that of what Halo players have seen for more than 20 years now when stepping into Master Chief’s enormous, armored shoes, and is a clever way for the show to bring in the look and feel of the video game without losing itself inside of it.”

Polygon’s staffers had a particularly interesting take. Initially, the team were critical of the show’s haphazard connection to its source material: “Halo is like an adaptation of a video game series as handled by someone who played a few levels of it once in college.” 

But one Polygon reviewer suggested Halo could actually benefit from ditching the big-budget facade and becoming a full-blown CBS-style show. “This is not the Halo show I expected, but it might be the Halo show I keep watching, in hopes I latch on to the characters and the low-key plot-of-the-week drama of it all,” they wrote. "The story is a bit fuzzy early on, but one can imagine Halo clicking into a SWAT mold, or even becoming truly deranged in the mode of Paramount Plus’ Evil.”

Both Collider and IGN, however, were more optimistic about the show as it exists now. “Halo doesn't reinvent the wheel,” the former’s Chase Hutchinson wrote, “though it is solid enough to break the video game adaptation curse.”

Similarly, IGN’s Jesse Schedeen said the show “doesn't disappoint,” though added that “this isn't to say the series sets out to dramatically reinvent every facet of the Halo mythos.”

And finally, Entertainment Weekly’s Darren Franich published perhaps the most damning take of the lot. “I don't know what I expected from Halo,” he wrote, “but this drama comes on strong with ambient techno-babble and bureaucratic realism. It's as thrilling as a meeting.”

“Everywhere looks like green screen,” Franich added, “It's like The Mandalorian without the pucks. What is The Mandalorian without the pucks?”

So there you have it, folks. Again, it’s worth clarifying that the above reactions were all based on the show’s earliest episodes, so none should be taken as totally indicative of the quality of Paramount Plus’ Halo series overall. 

Still, it’s not a promising sign that almost every reviewer had more bad things to say than good. Here's hoping Master Chief ups the ante as the Halo TV show heads towards its conclusion. 

• Paramount Plus gears up to challenge Netflix, Disney Plus and HBO Max

A set of job listings at Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries suggests where the shooter's multiplayer is headed.

343 has posted a job advert for a writing director, asking for someone able to create “innovative and engaging, serial narrative content for Halo Infinite’s free-to-play [multiplayer]”, GameSpot reports. That certainly suggests either a seasonal narrative or a story mode is coming to Halo Infinite multiplayer. Similar to the narrative beats delivered in each new season of Call of Duty's battle royale spinoff, Warzone.

The writing director will have to create “seasonal story content” that uses “cinematic scripts”, and “leverages existing Halo lore and adds exciting new chapters to the larger Halo story.” The seasonal nature of the content presumably ties into the DLC schedule that 343 Industries plans for Halo Infinite, much like other live-service games.

A second job posting for a monetization designer, who will create and iterate upon the game’s monetization systems, mentions new “in-game initiatives to drive player engagement and long-term player progression, as well as a player-first store and monetization model.”

The monetization designer role suggests we're going to see changes to Halo Infinite’s much-criticized in-game storefront, as well as possibly new microtransactions and ways of spending money in the game.

Analysis: what does narrative multiplayer look like?

Halo Infinite isn’t lacking a story - its entire single player campaign is steeped in the narrative of the Halo series. But that story content currently sits separate from the competitive, free-to-play multiplayer side of the game, and will cost you around $59.99 / £49.99 / AU$ 89.98 to pick up. (Unless you are a Game Pass member).

This job listing is the first indication that 343 Industries is adding narrative content to the free-to-play side of Halo Infinite. But what, exactly, it will look like is unclear. Players may not have purchased the main game,  so the new content might not touch on the single player campaign. I wouldn't expect any specific plot beats to be acknowledged or fleshed out as multiplayer modes.

It’s more likely the new content will focus on wider Halo lore that’s known to fans of the series. Given the deliberate framing of Halo Infinite as a live service game, however, we the multiplayer narrative may be its own story, which develops and evolves with each new season of content, much like as we see in Call of Duty's Warzone.

If you’re after story content right now, though, pick up a copy of Halo Infinite’s single player.

• Best Xbox Series X games

Former Fear the Walking Dead executive producer David Wiener is reportedly in line to helm the Halo TV show's second season.

According to numerous outlets, including Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter, Wiener is Paramount Plus's number-one choice to take over from season 1 showrunner Steven Kane.

Speaking during the Paramount Plus Television Critics Association (TCA) panel on Tuesday (February 1), Amblin Television co-president Justin Falvey suggested that Wiener could be the person to replace Kane. However, according to Falvey, that would only occur if the show is renewed for another season, adding: “Our intention is to produce several seasons of the show.”

If Wiener replaces Kane in the hot seat, he'll be the third incumbent to helm the iconic video game series' TV adaptation. Kane was initially brought on board to assist original showrunner Kyle Killen, but assumed total control after Killen's departure in 2018. Now, Kane is also leaving after a solitary season.

Revealing why he was walking away, Kane said: “As much as I enjoyed working on it, it’s a long time to be away from my family [filming in Hungary], and my kids were in the final years of high school, and I didn’t want to leave again. While making Halo will go down for me as a career highlight, I could only do it for one season.”

Halo is set to launch on Paramount Plus on March 24 in the US, but no international release date or platforms have been revealed yet. For more Halo TV show news, read up on why fans are unimpressed with Cortana's new design, as well as how the show fits into the franchise's core canon.

Analysis: wounded, but continuing the fight

Kane and Killen's departures are the latest blows to a TV show that's already endured a tumultuous, multi-year development cycle.

Halo's TV series has been in the works for eight years – District 9's Neil Blonkamp had originally wanted to make a movie based on the gaming franchise before that project fell apart – and has suffered numerous setbacks during that time.

The sci-fi show has lost its two original showrunners, replaced its first director in Rupert Wyatt due to scheduling conflicts, and has even switched platforms from Showtime to Paramount Plus. 

Natascha McElhone, who had signed up to portray Dr. Catherine Halsey and Cortana in the live-action series, was also forced to pull out of playing Cortana due to the ongoing pandemic. Master Chief's AI companion will be played by original game-series voice actor Jen Taylor instead.

So the Halo TV show has undergone plenty of changes, and faced many challenges, since 2014. And, like other protracted TV adaptations, including Hulu's recently cancelled Y: The Last Man, there's no guarantee that it'll be a success, despite an approach that Falvey labeled as "being patient."

Still, Halo's TV series, much like its protagonist, isn't ready to give up just yet. It may have been wounded by numerous boardroom and on-set battles, but it seemingly won't go down without a fight.

• Did you miss the official trailer for Halo's TV show? Check it out now

Electronics giant and PlayStation maker Sony announced plans on Monday to spend $3.6 billion on Bungie – the enormous game maker behind Destiny 2 and the hugely popular Halo – and that’s just the beginning of the spending spree.

The unexpected announcement followed hot on the heels of the startling news last week that Xbox manufacturer Microsoft planned to take over Activision Blizzard – so the Japanese company countered with its own major gaming acquisition.

“I want to be very clear to the community that Bungie will remain an independent and multi-platform studio and publisher,” said Jim Ryan, president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, in a blog post announcing the news. “As such, we believe it makes sense for it to sit alongside the PlayStation Studios organization, and we are incredibly excited about the opportunities for synergies and collaboration between these two world-class groups.”

The news comes just a week after Microsoft announced plans to acquire game maker Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, making this $3.6 billion deal seem almost insignificant. But looks can be deceiving: Few studios have the scale of Activision, meaning any deal would pale in comparison. And were Sony to go on a buying spree, it could quickly create an enormous gaming division – and widen the gulf between PlayStation and Xbox.

Bungie makes games with outstanding technology that are enormously fun to play,” added Hermen Hulst, Head of PlayStation Studios. “They also have unmatched dedication to the communities that play their games, and everyone at PlayStation, and PlayStation Studios, will be excited about what we can share and learn from them.”

“Bungie has created and continues to evolve some of the world’s most beloved videogame franchises and, by aligning its values with people’s desire to share gameplay experiences, they bring together millions of people around the world,” Kenichiro Yoshida, president and CEO of Sony Group Corporation, said in a statement. “We will utilize the Sony Group’s diverse array of entertainment and technology assets to support further evolution of Bungie and its ability to create iconic worlds across multiple platforms and media.”

And it's only the start.

In an exclusive interview with Gamesindustry.biz, Ryan described the move as just the beginning of the company's plans. More acquisitions are clearly on the way, in other words. 

"Expect more," he said.

The official Halo TV show trailer has finally arrived – and fans have had plenty to say about Cortana's new look in the live-action series.

Debuted during halftime of the AFC Championship game on Sunday (January 30), the trailer gave us our first detailed look at Halo's TV adaptation. And, for the most part, it looks pretty good, even if some creative liberties have been taken with its plot and style.

But fans really can't get over Cortana's aesthetic in the upcoming Paramount Plus TV show. Traditionally, Master Chief's AI companion has been blue or purple in the iconic gaming franchise. As you can see in the image below, though, Cortana's normal hue has been replaced by a more lifelike hologram, complete with white skin and black hair:

Unsurprisingly, Halo fans have taken to social media in their droves to criticize Cortana's new look, with many hitting out at Paramount and 343 Industries, Halo's current developer, for altering the AI's beloved appearance.

On Twitter, Spartanin229's "What did you do to Cortana!?" comment summed up many fans' complaints, while Ringframe posted a screenshot of Cortana alongside a very abrupt "what the ****" message. 

Another user in MOGWILD called on fans to push for Cortana's design to be changed – a move that would be reminiscent of how Sonic the Hedgehog's aesthetic (another Paramount production, coincidentally enough) was altered after fan backlash to the speedster's initial live-action design:

Over on Reddit, detrydis said it was "weird" that Cortana's appearance had been completely changed, while Msan28 opined that they really didn't like "the humanized Cortana". 

Dontloseyourway1610 agreed with MOGWILD's tweet, too, saying that the Halo fanbase should force Paramount and 343 to change Cortana's look, before Ill_Ratio_5682 said that Cortana looked "fake", and asked why she didn't retain her holographic look as seen in the games.

Reactions to Cortana's design weren't universally negative. Twitter user R0bSkii told disgruntled fans not to watch the series if they weren't happy with what they'd seen so far, while NemaCystx called out critical fans for being "entitled". 

Finally, J_Drage_ believes fans should be grateful that Jen Taylor – Cortana's original voice actor – reprises her role as the AI companion. It's a comment that a few people agreed with on Reddit, too, including notyourancilla.

Such positive comments, however, are outnumbered by those who can't (or refuse) to take to Cortana's new aesthetic. And, while the Halo TV show isn't officially canon within the franchise's main timeline, it's understandable why fans are aggrieved at the AI's revised look.

Paramount's Halo live-action series has retained plenty of other signature Halo elements. Master Chief's armor, the incredibly detailed Elites, UNSC and Covenant weapons, and vehicles feel like they've been pulled directly from the first-person shooter series. 

From a design perspective, then, it does seem like an odd decision not to keep Cortana's look from the games. It doesn't help Cortana doesn't look like Dr. Catherine Halsey, either. In the games, Halsey modeled Cortana's physical appearance on her own, so the fact that Cortana doesn't look like Natascha McElhone – who portrays Halsey in the TV show – doesn't help matters.

The Halo TV show will launch exclusively on Paramount Plus on March 24, so there's still time for Paramount and 343 to revise Cortana's TV look. You know, providing they want to do so.

• Here's how much it costs to subscribe to Paramount Plus

The wait is over – Paramount Plus has dropped the first official trailer for its highly anticipated Halo TV series, delivering what appears to be an epic and (mostly) visually faithful adaptation of the beloved video game franchise.

The trailer also brings with it a release date: the Halo TV show will premiere on the Paramount Plus streaming service on March 24, 2022.

The Halo TV series tells the story of the Human-Covenant War in the 26th Century, in which Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber) and his AI partner Cortana (Jen Taylor) attempt to stop the alien threat known as The Covenant and its genocidal campaign against humanity.

While the upcoming TV adaptation seems to be sticking pretty close to Halo's basic fundamentals, it also appears to be taking a wildly different path in terms of its story. Before we go any further, you can check out the official trailer for the Halo TV series below.

Analysis: a different Halo to what we're used to

As previously explained by Frank O'Connor, Halo's Franchise Development Director, the TV show exists on its own 'Silver Timeline', allowing its showrunners to pick and choose elements from existing "Halo lore, history, canon, and characters wherever they make sense for a linear narrative" without invalidating Halo's "core canon."

Based on the trailer above, we're already seeing a number of ways in which the Halo TV series diverges from existing Halo canon.

For starters, the show's Master Chief is seen operating alongside other Spartan soldiers in multiple scenes. As you'll remember, Master Chief was the sole Spartan warrior on the UNSC Pillar of Autumn in the first Halo ring, and it looks like that will be different here.

It also seems that (at least initially) this Master Chief doesn't exhibit any free will –as explained by Dr. Catherine Halsey (Natascha McElhone) in the trailer, the Master Chief has been designed with the sole purpose of fighting The Covenant, stating that "he is lethal, upgradeable, and most importantly, controllable."

That last part appears to change, however, when Master Chief comes into contact with a mysterious object that was being excavated by The Covenant, awakening something in Chief which sets him on his own path. This mysterious object also leads to a completely different way in which the first Halo ring itself is discovered.

Another big change to Halo lore comes in the form of Makee (Charlie Murphy), a new (and seemingly human) character created specifically for the series who leads (or at least speaks for) The Covenant. 

The idea of a human Covenant member is a huge departure for the franchise, though we have to wonder whether the decision was made to cut down on the inherent VFX costs that would come with a fully CG animated alien villain.

Which brings us to what might be the Halo TV show's most controversial choice – Cortana's appearance. Though the character appears to be computer-generated in the show (or at least CG-enhanced), Halo's showrunners have opted to ditch the character's blue-ish hologram look in favour of a more physical human semblance. 

Quite frankly, the change seems baffling and unnecessary to us, though we'll have to wait and see how it plays out. Thankfully, Jen Taylor has returned to voice Cortana in the show.

Changes aside, we love how most everything else in the trailer looks, from the Spartan armor, weapons and vehicles, to the appearance of the Elites (and their Energy Swords), the Jackals and other visually faithful pieces of Halo iconography. We look forward to seeing more when Halo arrives on March 24.

• It’s about time Halo Infinite lowered its store prices

Certain Affinity, a games studio that’s contributed to the development of several Halo titles including Halo Infinite, is reportedly working on a new Monster Hunter-style game for Xbox.

First reported by GamesBeat journalist Jeff Grubb and separately corroborated by Windows Central, the unannounced title, codenamed Project Suerte, has been in development since the middle of 2020 and is currently planned for release in 2024.

Grubb suggested Microsoft greenlit the project to add variety to its roster of Game Pass titles and build on the success the Monster Hunter series has received in recent years.

“They’re working with Certain Affinity on what seems like a Monster Hunter style game – a Monster Hunter clone,” Grubb said, as transcribed by VGC. “They see this gameplay style succeeding, and Microsoft’s like, ‘Hey, we should try to make one of those, is anyone out there going to pitch one?’” he added.

“They want more variety in the kinds of games they’re putting on Game Pass and this is an example of that. They’re like, ‘We probably can’t get Monster Hunter on Game Pass – that would be pretty expensive – but we definitely want a game like that, because we see the potential for that to grow and be a big thing with long-term support’” Grubb said.

Although it doesn’t boast the same recognition as Bungie or 343 Industries, Certain Affinity has had a long involvement with the Halo series, particularly its multiplayer components. Several of its founding members worked at Bungie during the studio’s Halo days, and president Max Hoberman worked as the multiplayer lead on Halo 2.

Certain Affinity has created map packs for Halo: Reach, developed several game modes and maps for Halo 4, updated Halo 2 for The Master Chief Collection, and contributed to the multiplayer side of Halo Infinite. It also assisted in the development of Left 4 Dead and 2016’s Doom reboot.

Last year, the studio announced it had begun leading development on an original IP that Hoberman described as the studio’s “most ambitious title to date”. That unannounced project could be the game it’s cooking up for Microsoft.

Analysis: a Game Pass for every player

News that another potential Xbox exclusive is in the works is exciting enough, but Grubb’s comments about Microsoft’s reasons behind greenlighting the Monster Hunter-style project are more interesting. He suggests Microsoft is no longer looking for exclusive Xbox titles to rival Sony’s, or necessarily trying to leap on the next big craze in gaming, but is more concerned with shoring up its Game Pass lineup to maximize the appeal of the subscription service.

That aligns with recent comments made by Xbox boss Phil Spencer, who framed subscription services like Xbox Game Pass as the future of the industry and said it was an “inevitability” that PlayStation would create its own, rival service somewhere down the line. As such, he thinks it's now the job of Microsoft to innovate and improve the service as far as it can to keep it competitive against incoming alternatives.

One way Microsoft can do that is to ensure the service caters to every type of gamer. If a series like Monster Hunter is peaking in popularity, and Microsoft is unable to secure the titles on Game Pass, what better way to grab a piece of that popularity pie than by making their own, alternative game that’s tailored to the same audience. 

If Microsoft is as laser-focused on Game Pass as Spencer suggests, we should expect similar development decisions in the future.

• Best Xbox Game Pass games: prime picks of a massive collection

The Halo Silver Timeline isn't officially canon within the Halo universe – but it will co-exist alongside, and potentially add to, the franchise's main timeline.

That's according to Frank O'Connor, Halo's Franchise Development Director, who has attempted to clarify how the upcoming Halo TV show fits into the series' established lore.

O'Connor, who also serves as an executive producer Paramount Plus's TV adaptation of the beloved FPS series, was interviewed by the Halo Waypoint team to explain how the TV show's narrative fits into the wider Halo universe.

Asked if he could simplify where the Silver Timelines fits into the history of the franchise, O'Connor begun by stating that the Halo TV series is built on series' "core canon".

"One of the first things we realized... was that there were some real dangers of mapping a totally different medium – games – to a linear narrative format, TV or movie for that matter," he said. 

"Halo’s core canon is extremely important to us and our fans, and we wanted to think of the simplest and most productive way to make sure we didn’t ‘break’ either medium by trying to force square pegs into round holes. The idea of the 'Silver Timeline’ kept resurfacing throughout that process.

"We wanted to use the existing Halo lore, history, canon, and characters wherever they make sense for a linear narrative, but also separate the two [timelines] distinctly so that we don’t invalidate the core canon."

So how does the Halo Silver Timeline actually fit into the extended universe? O'Connor stressed that the TV adaptation won't retcon any of Halo's pre-existing history, instead suggesting that it'll live alongside the main timeline already established in the games and novels.

"To be clear: these will be two parallel, very similar, but ultimately separate timelines whose main events and characters will intersect and align throughout their very different cadences," he revealed. "The TV show timeline – the ‘Silver Timeline’ – is grounded in the universe, characters and events of what’s been established in core canon.

"But [they] will differ in subtle and not so subtle ways in order to tell a grounded, human story, set in the profoundly established Halo universe. Where differences and branches arise, they will do so in ways that make sense for the show, meaning that while many events, origins, character arcs, and outcomes will map to the Halo story fans know, there will be surprises, differences, and twists that will run parallel, but not identically to core canon."

In other Halo TV series related news, we recently learned when the show's official trailer will be released. And check out why we think Halo's TV adaptation takes its cues from Star Wars series The Mandalorian, as well as how we think it'll build on John-117's backstory.

Analysis: A Halo story full of Silver linings

As with any movie or TV adaptation, diehard Halo fans were (and still are) naturally apprehensive about the prospect of a Halo TV series. This is an iconic and beloved gaming franchise, after all, so why would anyone want to tarnish its reputation and potentially retcon its canon with a TV adaptation?

Based on O'Connor's comments, though, fans should be resting a little easier now. 

Yes, Paramount's Halo TV show will take plenty of cues from the games and novels, and it's likely to retell key events in the Halo universe, albeit with a unique television-based spin. 

Given that O'Connor has confirmed there could be crossovers between the Silver Timeline and core canon – "Absolutely – and ideally both ways... story differences create great opportunities to make new things that could potentially feature in future games" – some fans may still have reservations about how the TV show will impact the already established Halo universe.

But the key takeaway here is that the Halo TV show will exist on its own timeline. As such, it's unlikely to have any major impacts on the overarching narrative that's come before in the games and books. Think of other recent TV adaptations, such as The Expanse on Prime Video or Netflix's The Umbrella Academy, and you'll catch our drift.

If anything, we suspect that the TV series will expand on key story material where some puzzle pieces have been missing. And it may introduce newcomers to the wider Halo universe, too, and entice them to play the games or read the books, which developer 343 Industries and various Halo authors will only see as a good thing.

So is Halo on Paramount Plus actually canon? No. Sure, O'Connor's long-winded answers – the whole interview is well worth a read if you require further clarity – leave things open to interpretation in some instances. But, for the most part, the Halo TV show is a separate entity to what's come before, and that should make hardcore Halo fans breathe a sigh of relief.

• Here's our review of Paramount Plus

It's time to lock and load your assault rifle, Spartan, as the Halo TV show's official trailer will be released this weekend.

Like an ODST from the iconic video game series, the Halo TV series' full trailer will drop on Sunday, January 30. Given that an official release date hasn't been revealed yet, we're hoping to learn when the action sci-fi show will launch, too.

Announced on various social media channels, including the Halo TV series' official Twitter account, the show's trailer will be shown during the halftime interval of Sunday's AFC Championship Game. US fans tuning in for the trailer's debut, then, will have to switch over to Paramount Plus or CBS.

It's unclear if UK, Indian, Australian or other international Halo fans will be able to catch the trailer on TV at a similar time. However, we'd expect the show's latest teaser to launch on YouTube immediately after its TV debut, so Halo fans should see it one way or another.

According to a Deadline report in February 2021, the Halo TV series is set to premiere sometime in Q1 2022. If that release window hasn't changed, it may mean that the TV adaptation of the FPS franchise will be with us by April 1, 2022.

Set during the Human-Covenant War in the 26th Century, the Halo TV show will follow John-117/Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber) and AI partner Cortana (Jen Taylor) as they look to put an end to the universal alien threat. However, it won't be canon to the game series. Instead, the Halo TV series will be set in the franchise's "Silver Timeline", according to 343 Industries' Head of Transmedia Kiki Wolfkill (per Halopedia).

Developed by Paramount Television and Amblin Television, in association with 343 Industries – the Halo gaming series' current developer – the Halo TV show will launch exclusively on Paramount Plus in the US.

Analysis: where can non-US fans watch the Halo TV show?

Right now, there's no official confirmation on where non-US Halo fans will be able to watch the TV adaptation. Given that Paramount Plus is only currently available in the US, Latin America, and Scandanavia, most of Halo's global fanbase has been concerned that the show won't be distributed to most international markets.

Halo diehards, though, shouldn't worry about the prospect of the TV show not launching in their nations. In February 2021, Wolfkill said that "no Spartan will be left behind" when asked if the TV series would launch in the UK (and, by proxy, international markets)

So when could the Halo TV show come to UK, Indian, Australian and other nations' shores? And where will it be available to watch?

Well, according to the Midgard Times, an Indian publication, the 10-episode TV series will premiere on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video in different territories. 

While this claim should be taken with a pinch of salt for the time being, it would make sense from a distribution perspective. Currently, UK, Indian and Australian Prime Video subscribers have access to numerous movies and TV shows that are exclusive to Paramount Plus. This includes most (if not all) Star Trek films and TV series, iCarly, Rugrats and The Twilight Zone. Other Paramount Plus exclusive, such as RuPaul's Drag Race, are also available to stream on Netflix UK, too.

It's more likely, though, that the Halo TV show will launch in international markets on Paramount Plus itself. The streaming platform is already available in Australia, while The Hollywood Reporter has claimed that the service will launch in the UK – in partnership with Sky – sometime in 2022. Unfortunately, there's no planned release date for India at the time of writing.

For UK and Australian fans at least, then, we suspect that the Halo TV show will launch exclusively on Paramount Plus. The streaming platform needs a big hitter to attract new subscribers to compete with Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus and more. So it's in its best interests to keep its original programs in-house to entice new users to sign up, especially if Paramount Plus launches in the UK and mainland Europe in time for the TV adaptation's release.

Expect the Halo TV series to be distributed by the likes of Prime Video in India and other nations that don't have a confirmed Paramount Plus release date or window. However, for Australian, British, and other major European nations, we'd be surprised if it doesn't launch on Paramount Plus.

• It’s about time Halo Infinite lowered its store prices

Halo Infinite has a brand new multiplayer mode and players are already competing to come out on top. You’ll need to succeed, too, if you want to unlock progression on Halo's special event track, so here's everything you need to know.

Halo Infinite is currently hosting a 'Cyber Showdown' event in-game that brings more goods to unlock, all somewhat cyber-infused. Until January 31st, players can compete and earn cosmetics including a fun visor and an electric punk-rock mohawk that sits on top of your helmet. Lovely stuff.

However, undoubtedly one of the biggest draws is the new multiplayer mode that's being run alongside the event. Attrition is making its debut in Halo Infinite and has a whole new set of rules for players to get their heads around. If you’re dying a lot, your team will know about it too, so there is some nuance to keep in mind.

Here’s everything you need to know about the new mode, as well as a bunch of tips to keep you alive and in the fight.

What is Attrition and how do you play it?

Attrition is an offshoot of Slayer that works much in the way of traditional Elimination game modes. Teams of four start with a bank of eight shared lives to burn through, and once those are spent, each player is on their last life. Once everyone's dead, the team is out. 

Although not necessarily for good. Players can be revived in Attrition, giving their team another lease at life. Once a player is eliminated, their AI companion will drop on the place they died. Another player on their team can then run over to revive that fallen teammate. 

Attrition is also a round-based match mode, not unlike Oddball. This is a best of three rounds, so first to two wins. 

Also, worth keeping in mind, the portion of a round where you have lives in the bank has no time limit. However, if both teams are out, after a set amount of time, a battle royale-type circle will spawn on the map pushing players closer and closer together until only one team is left standing.

How to win in Attrition: tips to help you succeed?

Play more considered than in Slayer

Slayer can be pretty free-flowing, and risking your life for the potential of a big play can be worth it. Potentially getting several kills with the only real downside being a short respawn timer tends to be worth it. However, when you and your team share eight lives between you, your life is worth so much more than normal. Play like it.  

Move as a unit

In multiplayer, it can seem impossible to have a team strategy, especially if no one is communicating. However, this mode is a huge numbers game. Even if you aren’t talking to your teammates and they don’t seem to acknowledge your existence, put it upon yourself to stick by them. Create a unit, and your team should fall into place. Effectively trading lives is important in this mode. Even if you lose a player, if the team is around, they should be able to return the favor on the other side. 

Don’t get killed over a revive

Reviving is a powerful mechanic. It musters up scenarios in your head of getting your teammate back when they're down and turning the fight for a win. That can certainly happen, but it can also be a trap mentality. If your teammate died somewhere where the enemy team might have an angle on it, don’t try it. At this point in the fight, your life is invaluable. Back yourself. Try to win rather than dying without shooting a bullet. Don’t run out in the open trying to be a good teammate. It won’t matter if you all lose.

Die good

This might sound silly, but there is 'dying good', and there is 'dying badly'. That is to say if you have to get eliminated, get eliminated somewhere safe. If you find yourself without a shield and you are behind cover, stay there, even if you feel like a grenade is coming to finish you off. Trying to go for a miracle play, running out, and getting an unlikely kill might sound possible, but you'll be impossible to revive if you die in the open. If you die in cover, your teammates have a reasonable chance of getting you back into the fight. 

Push when you have a numbers advantage

This is imperative to a winning mentality. Attrition is a numbers game, and when you have the advantage, you need to push with your team. If your team gets a kill and the enemy team was together, keep pushing and finish off everyone. Getting them all will half their life total. This especially applies once a player is eliminated. If you have more players on the field than they do, flex that advantage and finish the game. 

Don’t blame your teammates

This is more of a mentality than a gameplay tip, however, it will keep you from playing yourself. Since your lives are shared, if you are losing, don’t look up who has died the most and start blaming or flaming them in chat. Once you get to that point, you and your team will start to throw in the towel and your self-fulfilling prophecy will be complete. 

Instead, focus on your game. Is there some way you can support that player? Can you start moving around the map with them, trading kills even when they die? Can you use the enemy team looking at them to flank and clean up? Use your head, not your heart which will be looking to blame anyone but yourself. Sometimes, you’ll just lose, even when you did your best. This is inevitable.

• Check out TechRadar's extensive Halo Infinite review

The first official trailer for Paramount Plus's Halo TV show has finally arrived – and it seems as if it's taking its cues from Disney's The Mandalorian.

Unveiled during the 2021 Game Awards ceremony on December 9, the one-minute long video shows us how faithful Paramount and Amblin Television's live-action adaptation will be to the iconic game franchise. 

We get solid glimpses of Pablo Schreiber in his full Master Chief costume a look at what appears to be New Mombasa – the city that was decimated in Halo 2 and Halo: ODST – in all its glory, and plenty of nods to other fan favorite Halo elements, including shots of Pelican ships, Natascha McElhone's Dr. Catherine Halsey and other Spartans.

Check out the official teaser for the Halo TV series below:

As delightfully faithful as the Halo TV show looks – current Halo game developer 343 Industries are also involved in it – though, what's more intriguing is how it appears to be paralleling The Mandalorian, the acclaimed Star Wars spin-off show that exclusively streams on Disney Plus.

Both productions are sci-fi shows at heart, but The Mandalorian also draws heavily from the Western film genre with many of its characters, themes and aesthetic. We have a lone gunslinger in Pedro Pascal's titular character, desert settings and sandy locations, plenty of Mexican stand-offs, and a overarching seasonal narrative that's punctuated by standalone episodic adventures that have a complete beginning, middle and end.

The upcoming Halo TV show, on the surface at least, seems to be going for the same kind of vibe. 

Master Chief, for the most part, has acted alone (if you discount Cortana, that is) throughout the Halo franchise. He's also a hero who very, very rarely removes his helmet – two elements that mirror Pascal's Din Djarin in The Mandalorian.

We also see Master Chief exploring some ruins in a sand-laden environment, as well as expansive vistas that hint at the fact that Paramount's Halo adaptation will take us on a journey to different worlds and parts of the universe.

Close-up shots give us a vague idea of some of the show's supporting cast who we'll meet along the way, too. We see McElhone's Halsey, Olive Gray's Miranda Keyes, Bokeem Woodbine's Soren-066 and Yerin Ha's Kwan Ha briefly during the teaser, which hints at potential interactions and team-ups between Master Chief and these individuals. Again, this is similar to the Mandalorian, where Djarin must work with local citizens, law enforcers and other characters to achieve a common goal.

Like The Mandalorian, Halo will include flashbacks to John-117's childhood, too. The trailer shows us a couple of seconds of footage of Master Chief as a child before he's ripped away from his mother, inducted into the Spartan program and biologically augmented to become the supersoldier that we know him to be.

We know the kid in the trailer is John as the child actor – Casper Knopf – is listed as playing 'Young John' on the show's IMDB page. We also get a brief glimpse at actor Sarah Ridgeway, who will portray John's mother in the TV show, at the 0:31 mark:

Given that Paramount's Halo adaptation is set during the height of the Human-Covenant War, we can expect to see species, planets, biomes and highly-advanced technology that are unique to the Halo universe as well. Once more, similarities can be drawn with The Mandalorian, which has its own distinct aesthetic and feel, thanks to the fact that it's set in the Star Wars universe.

Is the Halo TV show, then, Paramount Plus's answer to The Mandalorian? In our opinion, yes. Sure, it's set in a completely different universe, so it'll have its own distinctive atmosphere, plot, world-building elements, action and much more.

But it's hard to look past the fact that it looks and feels similar in style and tone to The Mandalorian. That isn't a bad thing, though: The Mandalorian is a superb show so, if Paramount's Halo adaptation can capture what makes the game series so good, we'll be in for a treat when the TV show arrives in 2022. 

After the first Halo teaser left me feeling underwhelmed, this one certainly piqued my interest – and I'm very excited to see more.

Halo will launch exclusively on Paramount Plus sometime in 2022.

• Halo Infinite is thankfully getting more multiplayer modes before 2022

It's been six years since the Halo TV show was supposed to launch worldwide, and yet we're still waiting for its arrival. 

Thankfully, a Master Chief-starring live-action adventure in the Halo universe will be with us soon – sometime in 2022, in fact. And, as part of Microsoft's Xbox 20th anniversary celebrations on November 15, we finally got our first look at how the TV adaptation will look.

As cool as it was to get a tiny glimpse of the Halo TV show, though, I expected a lot more from its unveiling.

Okay, maybe my expectations for a full reveal were a bit too high. This is a TV series that has spent the past eight years in development hell, with the likes of legendary filmmaker Stephen Spielberg attached to the project at one point.

With so many development ups and downs, then, it's only right that showrunners Kyle Killen and Steven Kane – who won't return for a potential second season – have wanted to take their time with it. 

We've already seen first-hand, too, what happens when a Halo project is unveiled before it's ready to be shown off. Halo Infinite, the next entry in the iconic gaming franchise, made its debut during an virtual Xbox presentation in summer 2020. But its demo was slammed by fans and critics for its graphics and other issues, which led to developer 343 Industries returning to the drawing board to rework the game. As a result, Halo Infinite's launch was delayed by over a year. The game's multiplayer component, however, is live now ahead of the game's full release on December 8.

Add in the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused filming on the Halo TV show to shut down in March 2020, and it isn't surprising why the likes of 343, Paramount Plus, Amblin Television and other partner studios are reluctant to jump the gun and reveal too much, too soon.

And yet I was still expecting something more than what we got. It's possible that the leaking of the Halo TV show's teaser, which was seen advertised on social media ahead of its debuting at the Xbox 20th anniversary event, made me think that more footage would be shown. 

Maybe I thought the advert was a tease before the, well, main teaser arrived. Maybe I hoped that we'd see Master Chief in action, even if it was just for five seconds, to give us a taste of how the TV series channels the frenetic, supersoldier fights that we see in the games. Maybe I thought we'd hear how Pablo Schreiber, who is playing Master Chief, would sound in comparison to Steve Downes, the long time voice actor of John-117.

Whatever it was, I was left underwhelmed by the footage on display. This is a TV show that's launching next year, after all, and we've barely seen anything to get us excited for its eventual arrival.

Has this brief teaser put me off from watching the show when it arrives? No. Did anyone promise to show more and then fail to deliver? Again, no. 

But I was still left disappointed by what was teased. A close-up of John-117's scarred back, due to his augmentations, a couple of shots of his armor, Schreiber putting the iconic helmet on, and Jennifer Hale's Cortana saying "Hello, Master Chief" before the series' logo was displayed. 

And that was it. I wanted to be dazzled in some way by the Halo TV show teaser, or excited by a quick clip of the legendary hero in action. 

But, as I turned the Xbox 20th anniversary event livestream off on November 15, I was more hyped about the 76 Xbox titles that are now backwards compatible on Microsoft's console than I was about the Halo TV show. And that stings.

For more Halo content, find out how to fix the blue screen error for Halo Infinite's newly released multiplayer beta.

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Halo: The Master Chief Collection is now onto Season 8 (which will be the final one), and with it comes the long-awaited release of new mod tools for Halo 2 and Halo 3 (plus Halo: Combat Evolved has had its tools updated).

Halo: Combat Evolved got mod support in June, of course, and the fresh update on Steam applies some changes to “support both classic and remastered HUD elements”, but existing mods “should remain compatible”. Some bug fixes were applied here, too.

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But the big news is the launch of the mod tools for both Halo 2 and Halo 3, which you can now grab on Steam here and here respectively.

Note that unlike the Halo: CE tools, which can be snapped up by anyone no matter what games they own in the Master Chief Collection, for access to the Halo 2 and 3 tools you must have a license for the base game within Steam.

Analysis: Mod tools are “as-is” with limited support

As 343 Industries, the developer, notes, these new mod tools are provided on an “as-is” basis, and with this initial incarnation, things likely won’t be perfect, and bugs could rear their heads as you might expect (the Halo: CE tools are still in an ongoing process of having bugs squashed, as mentioned above).

The developer notes that there will be updates made to address any issues for the tools, and that it’ll be listening to player feedback, but that the support provided here won’t be to the same standard as that of the Master Chief Collection itself.

As 343 Industries warns: “These are the tools which developers used or are using. They were originally developed with the expectation that a programmer was never too far away to fix or help someone work around an issue. They can be used in many ways, but not all workflows may work as expected on your machine.”

Caveats aside, there’s still plenty of excitement around what fresh maps might pop up soon, and the prospect of custom-made co-op campaigns.

• Halo Infinite release date, news and trailers

Via Rock Paper Shotgun

The Gamescom 2021 showcase finally revealed the Halo Infinite release date, but that’s not all – there will be a limited edition Halo Infinite Xbox Series X console and controller coming out, too, and preorders are live. 

If you've already got a system, there's also an Xbox Elite Wireless Controller patterned after the Master Chief that's up for pre-order now, too. 

The console pre-order is live on Microsoft's Xbox store for $549 / £479 (around AU$755), and pre-orders should go live soon on other retailers. 

The console itself dresses up the Xbox Series X with a Halo-themed skin – sorry, there’s not a speck of Master Chief green in sight, but series fans will appreciate the geometric gray and black with burnished gold detail as feeling a bit more USMC, making the ‘black fridge’ console look a bit more like the Pillar of Autumn. The top of the console has a cool starfield effect, so perhaps it’s more like peering out of a cockpit? Interesting choices here.

Xbox Senior Marketing Manager Josh Munsee first tweeted the news, which was followed up by an official tweet with pre-order link:

The limited-edition Xbox Series X’s controller gets its own skin, too, with the same light gray and black-rimmed with gold look. Munsee confirmed in a follow-up tweet that fans won't be able to buy this separately, so your way way to get a new one is ordering the limited edition console outright.

The Master Chief gets his own controller

For fans who desperately need Halo flavor in their gamepads, the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 – Halo Infinite Limited Edition (phew) is up for pre-order here for an eye-watering $199 / . This controllers is properly Master Chief themed, with the Spartan's signature green over the thumbsticks and buttons while the grips are wrapped in black, along with a bit of Mjolnir-armor-helmet-visor gold on the d-pad.

Details on the console are coming in quickly – Munsee tweeted in a follow-up that “pre-order pages will be going up as quickly as retail partners can get them live.” It’s unclear how much stock they’ll have available, but given Munsee’s first tweet mentioning the supply “will BE LIMITED,” hopefully fans will be able to snag one.

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