Phil Spencer wants me to play Xbox games on the Nintendo Switch 2, so give me Halo: Campaign Evolved
It hasn’t been live for long, but seeing Halo: Campaign Evolved on the PlayStation Store is surreal. Two decades ago, the thought of Master Chief leaping over to Sony’s shores would have been considered a crime in the eyes of avid shooter fans. Yet, here we are, as more Xbox titles continue to find a place on rival consoles, including the Nintendo Switch 2. Appearing at the Tokyo Game Show, Phil Spencer shows support for Nintendo’s hardware, but does that extend to the next chapter in Halo history?
Phil Spencer’s adoration for the Nintendo Switch 2 is well documented. Whether it’s calling Nintendo “masterful” after the Switch 2’s reveal or praising the company as a partner it wants to collaborate with often, there’s no shortage of Spencer’s love for the platform. Now that we’re a few months in the console’s lifespan, the roster of new Switch games is growing, and it’ll likely include more Xbox-centric titles. In an interview with Famitsu, Spencer makes it clear that it doesn’t matter about owning an Xbox anymore to play them.
He tells the outlet that “we are making efforts to lower the barrier to entry for people to play our games through services like Xbox Play Anywhere and Xbox Game Pass. However, if there are people who want to play our games on the PlayStation 5 or the Nintendo Switch 2, we would love for them to play our games on those platforms.” Spencer relates this to the release of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4, which comes from Activision and third-party studio Iron Galaxy. You can read my 8/10 Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 review for the full rundown.
Alongside Spencer’s perspective on where you play Xbox games, other developments are already appearing. Just mere days ago, Bethesda’s announcement of a Fallout 4 Nintendo Switch 2 port blindsided RPG fans. While I’d much rather hear word about that long-rumored Fallout 3 remaster, it’s a start. At this point, it feels like anything is fair game when it comes to Xbox’s library. Forza Horizon 5 is on PlayStation 5, after all.
But now, the biggest FPS game franchise in Xbox’s arsenal is breaking free of Team Green. Halo: Campaign Evolved overhauls Master Chief’s debut adventure in Unreal Engine 5, complete with new four-player co-op functionality, 4K visuals, and brand-new story content. Split-screen multiplayer is the stuff of legend for Halo: Combat Evolved, and even though it didn’t support official online play at the time, it didn’t stop savvy players from figuring it out. However, it doesn’t mean Halo Studios is including it properly here.
“Focusing on the campaign experience means we can concentrate fully on really capturing the atmosphere, tone – the emotional impact of what made the first campaign so special and iconic,” says executive producer Damon Conn in a recent Xbox Wire post. While I’m not completely on board with the overly glossy sheen it currently sports, I reckon it’ll be a blast with friends – if you’re playing on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, or PC that is.
It strikes me as a bizarre choice to omit the Nintendo Switch 2, given that it’s clearly capable of holding its own on the hardware end. You only need to look at Cyberpunk 2077 or IO Interactive’s decision to bring 007 First Light to the handheld for proof of that. I’m hoping that a Halo: Campaign Evolved Nintendo Switch 2 version appears down the line, but at the moment, I’m not filled with confidence.
Are you looking forward to Halo: Campaign Evolved? Be sure to let us know over at the Pocket Tactics Discord server.
