CE Might Get Another Remaster That Could Come To PS5

There are big questions ahead of Microsoft’s summer Xbox showcase, including which games might also come to PlayStation 5 now as part of a new multiplatform strategy, and what the Xbox Series X/S and their successors look like without as many exclusives. New reporting at The Verge offers a few more clues about the platform’s future, including another remaster for Halo: Combat Evolved being in development and possibly bringing the franchise to PlayStation for the first time.

Microsoft’s re-evaluation of console exclusivity was first reported by WindowsCentral as “Project Latitude,” an initiative born out of a desire to improve the profit and loss breakdown of Xbox and its first-party games. Now Tom Warren at The Verge has followed up with more details in his newsletter, Notepad. His understanding is that while while games like Starfield, Hellblade 2, and Age of Empires II are “under consideration” when it comes to getting PS5 ports, games like Gears 6 and Fable are unlikely to go multiplatform. That suggests that franchises considered core to the Xbox brand might still be off limits.

What does that mean for Halo? While it’s unclear if a future sequel would ever come to PS5, Warren reports that a new remaster of Halo: Combat Evolved is in early development and being considered for Sony’s platform. You might be wondering why Microsoft is working on another remaster when the original game in the hit sci-fi shooter series is available with online multiplayer and improved graphics via the Master Chief Collection.

Well that game is basically running the original code with a fresh coat of paint on top. It’s possible a new remaster might offer a deeper overhaul, while still being short of a full blown remake. Microsoft reportedly stopped ongoing development on MCC at the start of this year, and a new remaster might serve as a perfect test case for how Halo performs on PS5 and what the backlash is from existing Xbox fans. We might have a better idea of Microsoft’s thinking on exclusivity coming out of the June 9 showcase on Sunday.