Microsoft's Halo series heading to rival PlayStation

Andrew RogersBBC Newsbeat

The Halo series has gone to new worlds, and now it’s going to new consoles too

Microsoft A computer rendered image of a gaming trailer which shows a futuristic soldier in green armour looking out of the back of a airship at a body of water on an alien world. — The Halo series has gone to new worlds, and now it’s going to new consoles too

Microsoft is taking one of its most popular and recognisable game series to a rival console for the first time.

Halo, a sci-fi shooter fronted by the armour-clad Master Chief, is heading to PlayStation 5 next year, something that would have been unthinkable for gaming fans when the title first launched in 2001.

A remake of the first game Halo: Combat Evolved has been announced for Microsoft’s own Xbox hardware, as well as for Sony’s PS5, under the name Halo: Campaign Evolved.

It will also launch on PC, and will be playable on mobile phones and tablets through Microsoft’s cloud streaming technology.

It’s the latest sign Microsoft is moving away from the traditional approach of console makers keeping their own franchises and characters as exclusives.

The end of console wars?

Halo is often credited with helping Microsoft first break into the gaming market with its original Xbox, despite arriving after consoles from Nintendo and Sony were already popular.

But while Microsoft has rapidly expanded its presence in the industry, buying up several rival studios – including Call of Duty maker Activision for $69bn (£56bn) – it’s struggled to convince gamers to buy its latest consoles.

Globally, the PlayStation 5 has reportedly outsold Microsoft’s Xbox Series S and X consoles by more than two to one. Nintendo’s hybrid Switch console has been even more successful.

Microsoft has instead been pushing a strategy of being able to play its games in more places, including on PCs, tablets, phones, and its new handheld console, the ROG Xbox Ally.

This has included promoting its subscription service Game Pass, where a monthly charge gets players access to a library of games, similar in style to services like Netflix and Disney+.

Increasing the Halo: Reach

While there’s long been rivalry between PlayStation and Xbox players, some fans of the Halo series are happy to see it reach more people.

YouTuber Kara, who streams under the name @Eldeeable, tells BBC Newsbeat that Halo’s been a big part of her life.

“Combat Evolved was one of the first games I ever played on Xbox,” she says.

“I played it with my little brother split-screen and I loved it.”

She says the announcement is “massive” and “broke the internet a little bit”.

Kara, 29, says Halo has been a big part of her life, growing up as an “Xbox girly”

@Eldeeable A woman with blonde hair and blue eyes smiles while looking at the camera. She's in front of a blue fluffy cushion. — Kara, 29, says Halo has been a big part of her life, growing up as an “Xbox girly”

Some Xbox owners have criticised Microsoft for not keeping Halo as an exclusive game, but it reflects a broader move away from exclusivity – with PlayStation releasing games from its The Last Of Us and Horizon series on PC, and even Nintendo making some games with its characters available on mobile phones.

For Kara, this shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing.

“I know there’s a bit of controversy about it coming to PlayStation, but I don’t see any reason why it should be like that at all”, she says.

“I just think it’s a win for all gamers.”

The game’s executive producer Damon Conn agrees, promising that the remake will appeal to old and new fans.

“At its heart, Halo is about connection, we’re thrilled to meet a new generation of players on their platforms of choice to fall in love with Halo the same way we did,” he says.

“We’re not trying to rewrite Halo’s legacy – we’re trying to immerse you in it like never before.”

Additional reporting by Georgia Levy-Collins and Peter Gillibrand.