One of 2025’s most shocking reveals was Halo: Campaign Evolved coming to PS5. Xbox’s iconic “mascot” is limited to Microsoft consoles and PC no more. It almost signalled a larger strategic shift, yet Gears of War: E-Day is skipping Sony’s console despite last year’s second Gears of War remaster making that jump. Now, Halo’s pre-orders on PS5 are glowing, raising more questions.
As pointed out by Push Square, Halo Campaign Evolved’s pre-orders on the PlayStation Store are looking mighty so far. While specific numbers aren’t available, Master Chief has been killing it on the UK store, where its standard edition is currently the best-selling pre-order (and the premium package is in the top five, too). In the US, Halo isn’t as high up yet, but its premium edition holds the seventh spot at the time of writing.
The Unreal Engine 5-powered remake is also finding lots of success in France, where the more expensive edition is topping the digital charts. In Germany, the story is similar, though it’s Halo’s standard edition taking the crown over there. Even if some territories are gravitating towards the return of Master Chief more than others, there’s a clear trend brewing, and one has to wonder if a massive launch on PS5 could make Xbox rethink its (still confusing) approach to huge console exclusives.
In fact, Halo: Campaign Evolved’s marketing campaign seems to favouring PS5 over Xbox despite Halo being the Xbox IP most associated with the brand. Ports like Forza Horizon 5 and Sea of Thieves have also proven there is interest in Xbox IP making their way onto Sony’s platform, so it’ll be really interesting to see where things go next from here.
For now, Eurogamer’s Dom Peppiatt walked into Halo: Campaign Evolved’s hands-on demo expecting to hate it, but is now a believer: “It has reinvigorated the first game with all the best bits of the following six.”
