The remake that marks the dawn of the Halo series has kicked off its early access phase. With the official launch just five days away, Halo: Campaign Evolved has immediately surged to the number one spot on Steam’s global top sellers list.

Halo: Campaign Evolved is a ground-up Unreal Engine 5 remake of the 2001 classic, Halo: Combat Evolved. While the core narrative remains intact, the developer has injected three new prequel missions that delve into the backstories of Master Chief and Sergeant Avery Johnson. The Premium Edition, which grants early access, also bundles in a Master Chief skin, digital art, and a short story.

Compared to the original, the visuals and cinematic cutscenes have seen a massive overhaul thanks to the modern engine, alongside completely re-recorded voice lines and a refreshed soundtrack. While the Master Chief Collection previously offered resolution and frame rate boosts, Campaign Evolved goes much further by integrating modern control schemes—such as a sprint function and revised health regeneration—while incorporating enemies like Brutes, Flood pure forms, and the Energy Sword, effectively reworking the game from the mechanics up.

However, commercial success hasn't quite translated into critical acclaim; user reviews on Steam are currently 'Mixed' (67% positive out of 1,335 reviews). While many players are satisfied with the visual upgrades, lighting effects, and the marriage of modern controls to the classic map design, the reception is dampened by reports of frame rate drops, stuttering, and a pervasive 'blurry' screen aesthetic. Complaints are also mounting regarding cutscenes being locked at 30fps, creating a jarring disconnect from gameplay, as well as degraded AI, awkward dubbing, random crashes, and the insistence on mandatory account linking.

Elsewhere in the charts, Grim Dawn surged as its new DLC dropped, claiming the 2nd and 3rd spots for the base game and expansion respectively. Meanwhile, Dino Blade—dubbed by some as 'Dino-Souls'—debuted at 9th place, currently boasting a 'Very Positive' user rating.

In the concurrent player charts, Palworld saw a dip of approximately 30,000, sliding from 2nd to 4th place with 747,880 players after a two-week reign. Rust climbed to 9th place with 141,264 players ahead of the weekend, while EA Sports FC 26, fresh off its sequel announcement, held onto 10th place with a minor bump to 133,382 players.