A new trailer for “Halo: Campaign Evolved” shows the PS5 Pro version of the game – and may have caused a lot of trouble behind the scenes. According to reports, the video could have been planned for the State of Play until Microsoft decided against it and is said to have upset Sony.
With „Halo: Campaign Evolved“a full-fledged remake of the 2001 original, Master Chief will find its way onto a Sony console for the first time. The release of the remake for the PS5 was already confirmed as part of the official announcement last October.
And yesterday Microsoft finally released one new story trailerwhich showed the game for the first time on Sony’s hardware – more precisely on the PS5 Pro. But it seems that the behind-the-scenes footage may have caused quite a stir between Microsoft and Sony.
Did Microsoft want to show a trailer at State of Play?
Many PlayStation and Xbox fans were amazed when the note “Captured on PS5 Pro” was clearly visible in the recently published story trailer for “Halo: Campaign Evolved”.
Sure, the PS5 Pro is currently the most powerful console on the market. But if Microsoft had wanted to present the new edition in the best possible way, they could have simply shown the PC version. And in fact, the background to the unusual labeling appears to be potentially quite sensitive.
Like well-connected insider Christopher Dring from The Game Business Now revealed, a real PR drama seems to have taken place behind the scenes. Because: Microsoft had originally planned to show a trailer at the State of Play.
“Microsoft had planned to show a game at PlayStation’s State of Play showcase, but decided against it, which upset Sony,” said Dring. The industry expert left it open exactly which game was meant, but the answer didn’t take long to arrive.
Tom Warren puts the puzzle pieces together
Following Dring’s statement, Tom Warren, the well-known journalist from The Verge, also spoke up and established a connection to Master Chief.
In a post on the short message service X he wrote: “This Halo trailer captured on the PS5 Pro would certainly have made a lot more sense if it had originally been part of Sony’s State of Play.”
If Christopher Dring’s claim and Warren’s assumption are true, one question in particular arises: Why did Microsoft suddenly decide against withdrawing a trailer that had already been released for State of Play – and apparently at such short notice that Sony was anything but pleased?
The answer could lie in a possibly radical course correction by Xbox management. The PS5 port is also rumored to have been released by „Gears of War: E-Day“ deleted at the last second. Showing Master Chief to the competition almost at the same time might have completely torpedoed the message of a return of exclusive games.
Unlike “E-Day”, however, the PS5 version of “Halo: Campaign Evolved” can no longer be withdrawn: as already mentioned, the official confirmation was made last year, while pre-orders are now also possible. But apparently they didn’t want to give Sony the big stage at least.
The release of “Halo: Campaign Evolved” is scheduled for July 28, 2026 – for the Xbox Series X/S, the PC and the PS5.
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