Halo: CE Remake Controversy – No Multiplayer Due To Conflicts With Future Halo Game

The announcement of Halo: Campaign Evolved has fans of the franchise completely divided. Some players are incredibly excited over the fact that the iconic FPS is finally coming to PlayStation consoles, while others are bewildered at the fact it won’t include a multiplayer feature—something most would argue is what defined Halo: CE as a revolutionary first-person shooter.

In a statement from Halo Studios (via Windows Central) about why the Halo: CE remake won’t feature multiplayer PvP, they claim that they’re not trying to replace the original and are “honoring the legacy,” focusing instead on bringing the co-op campaign experience to a modern audience. However, fans on Reddit were quick to point out that the real reason for its most-anticipated feature being MIA is that the next major Halo release will be a live-service multiplayer PvP game (via Gamespot).

Oddly enough, Halo Studios’ statements on a missing PvP multiplayer option in Halo: CE do not include any mention of the next mainline Halo installment or the franchise’s future in PvP or live service games, but players speculate there is more behind the decision than simply honoring the original’s legacy.

Halo Studios’ Statement On Missing PvP Doesn’t Add Up

Halo: CE Multiplayer Would Kneecap The Next Mainline Halo Game

The Halo: CE remake has already been hit with waves of criticism stemming from its use of generative AI, but the biggest shock to most fans of the Halo franchise is that the Halo: CE remake isn’t going to include the one thing that fans loved the most about the game—its PvP multiplayer functionality. While players certainly enjoyed the campaign in the original Halo: CE, it’s simply not what the game is remembered for.

Halo Studios’ statement about why the remake won’t include PvP fails to articulate the actual reason that’s right there in plain sight. While they offer up a rationale focused on co-op campaign gameplay and bringing the community together, players can see right through the facade. As MrEnvelope93 points out, “They don’t want three competing Halo Multiplayer experiences. That’s what unsaid and it’s fair.”

The fan is alluding to the fact that Halo Infinite is currently still the main competitive PvP Halo game at the moment, and that whatever future Halo game comes out would be also competing for the same player-base as well. It seems obvious to players that the main reason Halo: Campaign Evolved won’t feature multiplayer is because they don’t want to shoot themselves in the foot for the next major release.

Halo: CE Lack Of Multiplayer Is Not About “Honoring The Legacy”

The Decision Was Clearly A Result Of Conflicts With Other Halo Games

Halo Studios should just come out and own that the decision not to include PvP in Halo: Campaign Evolved is entirely a result of potential conflicts with other Halo PvP games. It’s a strange and disappointing decision no matter how you look at it, considering there’s a massive built-in audience for a Halo: CE remake with complete PvP functionality, and it would almost certainly be a huge success.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that players will ever get a remade version of multiplayer PvP in Halo: CE, at least as long as there’s another mainline PvP Halo game still in the works. Further, Halo Studios doesn’t need to sugarcoat their rationale or try to make it seem like future PvP Halo games weren’t part of their decision-making process.

At the end of the day, the missing PvP in Halo: Campaign Evolved isn’t about technical limitations or about “honoring the legacy” of the original. The studio understands how popular PvP in a Halo: CE remake would be, and including it would destroy any chance the next Halo game has at being successful. Saying otherwise is disingenuous, and it gives the impression that Halo Studios isn’t being entirely forthright about their decisions.