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Key Takeaways
- Halo: Campaign Evolved launches July 28, 2026 on Xbox, PC, and for the first time ever, PS5. Early access starts July 23.
- Game Pass Ultimate is the cheapest way to play day one, and a good headset matters more in Halo than in almost any other shooter.
- Best overall pick: the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X Gen 2, because it works on Xbox, PS5, PC, and Switch, so it covers you no matter where you play.
Halo is coming to PlayStation. I need a second every time I type that. Halo: Campaign Evolved lands July 28, a ground-up remake of the 2001 original with three brand new missions, four-player co-op, and for the first time in the franchise’s 25-year history, a PS5 version. Early access starts July 23 if you spring for the Premium or Collector’s edition. If you grew up on one side of the console wars like I did, this is the wall coming down.
Look, I have been a PlayStation guy since before some of you were born. This site literally started as acSlater.com, and back in 2001 I was the guy in the dorm insisting Twisted Metal mattered more than some space marine. I was wrong about the space marine. Halo: Combat Evolved was the reason half my friends bought an Xbox, and now the remake is the reason a PlayStation lifer like me finally gets to play the campaign on my own hardware without borrowing anybody’s console.
So with launch three weeks out, here’s the gear worth sorting before July 28. Some of it is essential, some of it is a $12 impulse buy, all of it is stuff I would actually put on my own setup. This is the best gaming gear for Halo: Campaign Evolved, whichever side of the fence you play on.
1. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, 3 Month Membership
Start here, because this is the cheat code. Halo: Campaign Evolved is a day one Game Pass Ultimate title, which means Xbox and PC players do not have to buy the game at all. Three months of Ultimate costs about what the standard edition does, and it comes with 500+ other games, EA Play, and cloud streaming.
The math is not complicated. Buy the game once, play the game. Buy Game Pass, play the game plus Forza Horizon 6 plus whatever else drops this summer, on console, PC, or streamed to your phone while you pretend to watch your kid’s baseball practice. At 4.7 stars across more than 20,000 ratings, this is the single most obvious purchase on this list. PS5 players, you unfortunately still have to buy the game the old fashioned way. Welcome to how the other half lived for 25 years.
Access sorted. Now let’s talk about the thing Halo veterans already know: audio wins firefights.
2. Xbox Wireless Headset
Microsoft’s own headset is the best value in Xbox audio, full stop. Ninety bucks gets you Dolby Atmos included at no extra cost, direct pairing to your console with no dongle, and those satisfying rotating earcup dials for volume and chat mix that every other manufacturer should have copied by now.
Here’s the thing about Halo specifically: the sound design is the nostalgia. The plasma pistol whine, the Grunt panic squeals, that Warthog engine. The remake is rebuilding all of it, and hearing a Covenant patrol before you see it around a corner on Legendary difficulty is the difference between a clean fight and a checkpoint restart. If your budget stops at $90, stop here and feel zero shame about it.
If your budget goes further, or you split time between consoles like I’m about to, the next one is the smarter play.
3. SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X Wireless Gen 2
This is my pick of the whole list. The Nova 7X Gen 2 works on Xbox, PS5, PC, Switch, and mobile through one USB-C dongle, which makes it the only headset here that covers Campaign Evolved no matter which platform you buy it on. Fifty-plus hours of battery, simultaneous 2.4GHz and Bluetooth so you can run game audio and Discord at once, and 200+ game-specific audio presets in the app.
It’s $199, and that stings next to the Xbox headset above. But one good multi-platform headset beats two mediocre single-platform ones, and this is the last headset purchase you’ll need to think about for years. For a game built around co-op with friends who own different boxes, that flexibility is the whole point.
Ears covered. Hands next, and this is where the Legendary difficulty crowd should pay attention.
4. Xbox Elite Series 2 Core Controller
The Elite Series 2 Core in translucent black is the pro controller at the sane price point. Adjustable-tension thumbsticks, hair trigger locks that shorten your trigger pull for faster follow-up shots, and a rubberized grip that survives the white-knuckle stretch of a Legendary run.
Halo’s magnum and battle rifle have always rewarded precise, deliberate aim over spray. Being able to stiffen the stick tension for those long-range pistol duels is a real advantage, not a spec-sheet gimmick. And the translucent black shell scratches the same itch as that see-through Nintendo 64 controller from 1999, which I am legally obligated to mention as a man who owned one. Purple, if you’re asking.
Now for my people. The green side of the fence gets its first Halo, and there’s a very good reason to have a second controller ready.
5. PlayStation DualSense Wireless Controller
Halo on a DualSense is the sentence 2001 me would not have believed, and it’s why PS5 owners should make sure they have a fresh second controller before July 28. Campaign Evolved ships with two-player split-screen co-op on console, the way God and Bungie intended, and the adaptive triggers pulling back on a plasma rifle is going to be a genuinely new way to feel a 25-year-old game.
At 4.7 stars over nearly 5,000 ratings, the standard DualSense remains the best value in Sony’s lineup. Haptic feedback, built-in mic for co-op callouts, and it doubles for PC play. If there was ever a moment to finally replace the drifting launch-day controller in your drawer, the first PlayStation Halo is it.
One boring but necessary stop before the fun stuff: storage. Because remakes in 2026 are not small.
6. WD_BLACK 1TB C50 Storage Expansion Card
Nobody gets excited about storage until the night a 100GB download will not fit. The C50 is the officially licensed Xbox expansion card: plug it into the back of your Series X or S and it behaves exactly like internal storage, Quick Resume and Velocity Architecture included. No screwdriver, no settings menu, no thinking.
A 4.8-star average across almost 11,000 ratings tells you everything about how it performs. Between Campaign Evolved, the DOOM expansion that just dropped, and whatever else Game Pass throws at you this summer, 1TB of breathing room means you stop playing the delete-something-to-play-something game. That game was never fun.
And finally, because every launch needs a cheap victory lap purchase.
7. Funko Pop Halo Spartan Mark V [B] with Energy Sword
Twelve dollars. That’s the whole pitch. A 4-inch Spartan in the classic Mark V armor, the exact silhouette on the original 2001 box art, holding a blue energy sword. It sits on the shelf next to your monitor and reminds you that you were there before Master Chief was a Paramount+ show.
There’s also a 1-in-6 chance you pull the chase variant with a red energy sword, which is the kind of low-stakes gambling I can endorse. At 4.8 stars from over a thousand collectors, it’s the cheapest thing on this list and the one most likely to make a Halo fan smile on launch day. Sometimes that’s the correct purchase.
The Bottom Line
2026 is quietly becoming the year of the remake done right. I said as much when Black Flag Resynced turned out to be the PS5 remake I didn’t know I needed, and Campaign Evolved looks like the same idea executed with even more reverence. Meanwhile the walls between consoles keep coming down, which feels fitting in the same era PlayStation is walking away from physical discs entirely. Everything is everywhere now. Mostly that’s good.
If you only grab one thing before July 28, make it Game Pass Ultimate on Xbox or PC, or a fresh DualSense on PS5. If you grab two, add the Nova 7X and thank me from inside the Truth and Reconciliation. Either way, I’ll see you on the ring. First time on PlayStation hardware for me, and honestly, it’s about time.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Halo: Campaign Evolved come out?
Halo: Campaign Evolved launches Tuesday, July 28, 2026 on Xbox Series X|S, PC, Steam, and PS5. Early access begins July 23 for Premium and Collector’s edition buyers, so the best gaming gear for Halo: Campaign Evolved is worth sorting a week early.
Is Halo: Campaign Evolved really on PS5?
Yes. This is the first Halo game ever released on a PlayStation console. It supports cross-play and cross-progression across Xbox, PC, Steam, and PS5, so your co-op sessions work across platforms.
Is Halo: Campaign Evolved on Game Pass at launch?
Yes. It’s a day one title on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, which is why a Game Pass Ultimate membership is the cheapest way for Xbox and PC players to play at launch. PS5 players need to buy the game outright.
What headset works for Halo on both Xbox and PS5?
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X Gen 2 is the standout multi-platform option. Its USB-C dongle works across Xbox, PS5, PC, and Switch, and it runs 2.4GHz game audio and Bluetooth chat simultaneously with 50+ hours of battery.
Do I need a storage expansion card for Halo: Campaign Evolved?
Not strictly, but modern remakes routinely run large, and Series S owners in particular fill internal storage fast. The WD_BLACK C50 expansion card adds 1TB of plug-and-play storage with full Quick Resume support, no tools required.
