Halo: Campaign Evolved releasing on PS5 signals the end of Xbox as we know it
It’s been coming, but it still hurts
🏳️ Microsoft has signified the end of Xbox as a distinct console platform by bringing Halo to PlayStation
🤥 The move follows a period of “gaslighting” and “obfuscation” from Microsoft regarding the future of Xbox exclusives
🙅♂️ Xbox consoles are no longer recommendable due to price hikes, an increase in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate cost, and no unique selling points
👎 Microsoft has destroyed the Xbox brand through anti-consumer decisions, and has shifted to focusing on maximizing profit before its gaming division becomes obsolete
After months of gaslighting and carefully worded PR statements, Microsoft has finally signalled the end of Xbox as we know it. And ironically, it’s with the game that became synonymous with the Xbox brand for generations.
Yes, Halo: Campaign Evolved, and all future entries in the once lauded first-person shooter series, will now arrive on PlayStation consoles on the same day and date as Xbox.
Hell has finally frozen over. Look out your window, and you’ll probably see pigs flying.
Seeing the official PlayStation account share the news that Xbox’s iconic mascot is coming to PS5 was surreal to say the least – but seeing a Halo Studios employee wearing a T-shirt plastered with Sony’s logo was just sad.
Of course, social media is ablaze after the announcement and even GameSpot and the President of the United States have taken advantage of the historical event. GameSpot has declared that the console wars are now over, and Donald Trump has even taken credit for ending his ninth war as a sitting president.
End of an era
Only the most stalwart of Xbox fans could deny this day was coming, but it still stings regardless. It hasn’t helped that Microsoft has continued to skirt around the fact that it would become a multiplatform developer, obfuscating the truth at almost every opportunity.
The mere idea that Halo would come to PlayStation was regularly scoffed at, yet Microsoft’s trifecta of golden Xbox franchises are all available on PS5 – Halo, Gears of War and Forza.
At first, we were told only a few Xbox exclusives would be available elsewhere. Soon after, special cases were made for other titles like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. But even then, the mere idea that Halo would come to PlayStation was regularly scoffed at
Fast forward to 2026, and Microsoft’s golden trifecta of Xbox franchises will all be available on PS5 – Halo, Gears of War and Forza. If you’re wondering how many PlayStation franchises will be on Xbox, the answer is one: Helldivers 2.
It’s only a matter of time before Starfield ends up on PlayStation 5, too. And I said that if an inevitable announcement happens, it would be game over for Xbox. However, I also grossly underestimated what else Microsoft would do to ensure to hammer more nails into the coffin of its gaming division.
Xbox, go home
Two price hikes in a year have made the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S impossible to recommend. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate – the company’s ace in the hole – has gone from the best deal in gaming to the worst now that it costs 50% more a month. And even developers are being asked to pay more to bring their games to Xbox, despite the platform’s dwindling fortunes. Halo coming to PlayStation seems like a drop in the ocean in comparison.
Every decision by Microsoft leads consumers to make one logical conclusion: there’s no reason to purchase an Xbox console over a PS5, PC or even a Nintendo Switch 2.
If that wasn’t enough, there’s also talk that Microsoft has set a target for the Xbox division to make 30% profit margin, which may be why we’ve seen so many anti-consumer decisions in the last year alone.
Every decision by Microsoft leads consumers to make one logical conclusion: there’s no reason to purchase an Xbox console over a PS5, PC or even a Nintendo Switch 2.
After all, the Xbox Series X costs more than the competition; Xbox no longer has exclusive games; its subscription service is now prohibitively expensive; and developers don’t see it as a viable platform anymore.
Seriously, what justification is there for buying an Xbox?
It’s over, Chief
Xbox has become the biggest publisher in the world, but it’s lost its entire reason for being. The Xbox brand was a disruptor and used to define the trajectory of the industry. Now, it’s simply a recognizable face that wants to squeeze as much money out of consumers as it can before the jig is up.
Master Chief famously said it was time to “finish the fight” and his arrival on PS5 signals that Microsoft and the Xbox brand have no fight left.
Master Chief famously said at the end of Halo 2, “Sir, I’m finishing this fight”, and in a cruel twist of fate, his arrival on PS5 signals that Microsoft and the Xbox brand have no fight left.
The company hasn’t gone down guns blazing like 117 would in a frantic firefight. Instead, Microsoft has resigned itself to the annals of history in the most dishonorable way possible: by lying to its fans, and by systematically destroying everything that the forefathers of Xbox worked so hard to build.
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Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. He also runs a retro gaming YouTube channel called Game on, boy! Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.