20 Game Anniversaries Coming In 2026 That'll Age You Mercilessly

Halo: Combat Evolved (or, y’know, Halo to its friends) is as synonymous with the Xbox as the Red Ring of Death. The game’s console exclusivity helped not just define Xbox against its main competitor PlayStation, but in the process defined the game itself, earning it a legion of loyal fans for whom this game alone was worth owning an Xbox.

And their loyalty was rewarded, as Halo delivered a first-person shooter that was at the forefront of the market, offering a fully realised 3D environment (trust us, this was exciting at the time) in which to manipulate Master Chief and the cybernetically enhanced supersoldiers of the 26th century, battling the alien Covenant for supremacy of the ring-shaped artificial world Halo. The story is expansive and surprising, the enemy types varied and distinct, and the action full-on.

And it’s three years older than Millie Bobby Brown. Feeling old yet?

This year ushers in Halo’s silver jubilee, with twenty-five years in the can. And, to celebrate – and so you don’t get too down about it – Halo Studios are releasing Halo: Campaign Evolved, a remake of the original, later this year.