Play Order (Release = Chronological)Recommended
0 / 8 playedRelease order, which doubles as the recommended play order. Reach is a prequel and ODST slots between games, but both play best here.
Bungie era
- 1 Halo: Combat Evolved Play Halo: Campaign Evolved (2026), the UE5 remake with 3 new prequel missions and 4-player co-op.
- 2 Halo 2
- 3 Halo 3
- 4 Halo 3: ODST Standalone expansion set during the events of Halo 2 and 3. Play it here.
- 5 Halo: Reach Prequel covering the fall of Reach. Play it here, not first.
343 Industries era
- 6 Halo 4
- 7 Halo 5: Guardians
- 8 Halo Infinite The free-to-play multiplayer is separate. The campaign continues the story.
About Halo
Halo follows Master Chief and Cortana through the Human-Covenant War and the Created uprising. Release order is the play order: Reach is a prequel and ODST fills gaps between games, but both were designed to be played after Halo 3.
Halo: Campaign Evolved (July 28, 2026) remakes the first game's campaign in Unreal Engine 5 with new prequel missions, and it is the series' first PlayStation release. Halo Studios has confirmed more UE5 games are in production, with no titles or dates yet.
Good to know
Play in release order. Newcomers should start with Campaign Evolved, the most modern way into the series. The Master Chief Collection (2014, updated since) remains the easiest way to play the Bungie games plus Halo 4 on Xbox and PC. Halo Wars 1 and 2 are real-time strategy spinoffs and sit outside this play order.
