Play Order (Release) Recommended
0 / 10 playedBy release date, which is how the series was paced and the order we suggest for a first run.
Bungie era
343 Industries era
Remake
Next project
Chronological Order
0 / 8 playedBy the year each game is set in, mostly 2552. Saved for a second run, since Reach's ending lands harder once you know where it leads.
The fall of Reach
The ring
The Reclaimer saga
About Halo
A first playthrough should follow release order: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, then Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach, both of which shipped after the trilogy but sit earlier in the story, then Halo 4, Halo 5: Guardians and Halo Infinite. Halo: Campaign Evolved, the Unreal Engine 5 remake released July 28, 2026, takes the place of the 2001 original instead of adding a chapter, and it landed on PlayStation as the first Halo on Sony hardware.
Story order only rearranges the front half. Reach ends hours before the Pillar of Autumn jumps, ODST plays out during Halo 2's New Mombasa evacuation, and everything after Halo 3 is a straight line. The Master Chief Collection covers six of these campaigns in a single purchase on Xbox and PC.
Good to know
Halo Wars 1 and 2 are real-time strategy prequels, and Spartan Assault and Spartan Strike are top-down shooters; none are needed for the Master Chief story. Halo 5 and Infinite sit outside the Master Chief Collection, so those two are separate buys. Halo Studios, renamed from 343 Industries in 2024, built Campaign Evolved before Xbox cut 268 roles on September 22, 2026 and handed the next game to Activision. No title or date exists, and press reports of a reboot are unconfirmed.
