The flagship franchise for Xbox, Halo is one of the most prolific and popular first-person shooters of all time. It changed the game with its multiplayer options, co-op campaign, and fantastic engine. Bungie created the original three plus a few others.
Halo 4 and on was developed by 343 Industries. While recent Halo games have lacked the magic of the original three games, Halo Infinite tried something different with an open-world concept. 343 Industries ditched the linear story beats and allowed players to explore one of the many “Rings” at their own leisure.
Halo Premise
The plot of the Halo series is based around a conflict between humanity and a theocratic and militaristic alliance of various alien species. Named the Covenant, these aliens want to activate ancient ring-like planets called Halos. If they start them, they believe the Great Journey will be completed.
But as the games progress, the alien races and humanity learn the real truth about the Rings.
The Halo rings were created by an ancient civilization known as the Forerunners as a last resort to combat a parasitic species called the Flood. The Flood is a highly infectious and aggressive organism that assimilates all life it comes into contact with, turning them into mindless drones. The Halo rings were designed to wipe out all sentient life in a galaxy-wide radius, effectively starving the Flood of hosts.
Gamers play as the Master Chief John-117, a super soldier known as a Spartan, equipped with advanced armor called Mjolnir and AI companions. As the games progress, you’ll be introduced to more and more characters and worlds, expanding the story and delivering an unbelievable story.
While the games tell an unbelievable story, some are based on different timeline beats. Let’s dive into the complete list chronologically and the release date.
Popular Halo Achievements
The easiest way to collect achievements is through Halo: The Master Chief Collection. The game allows you to play every game in the series. If you’re looking to complete the challenges, this is the best available platform.
Halo 2 Achievements
Halo Chronological Order
The game has more than just first-person shooters. Halo Wars introduced an RTS element to the Halo universe and the story’s actual work in the timeline. Sometimes, spin-offs have no relevance in the actual story, but 343 Industries used the games to advance the plot.
Halo Wars
©Screenshot of Halo Wars – Original
Halo Wars was a pleasant surprise to the series. Halo Wars allowed people to play as the covenant or the humans, giving way to a fantastic way to explore the Halo universe.
Halo Reach
©Screenshot of Halo: Reach. – Original
Even though it was made after Halo 3, Halo Reach was the prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved. Reach was the planet where the Spartans were first created, their birthplace. It was their sacrifice that allowed UNSC Pillar of Autumn to escape and start he story in Halo 1.
Halo: Combat Evolved
©Screenshot of Halo: Combat Evolved – Original
The beginning of destiny. Halo: Combat Evolved absolutely shook the gaming world. The use of vehicles, weapons, and multiplayer was enough on its own, but then the game had a compelling story, keeping players engaged from start to finish.
Halo 2
©Screenshot of Halo 2 – Original
Halo 2 continues the story from the first one and brings the battle to Earth. Master Chief now has to deal with a Covenant invasion while defending humanities last hope.
Halo 3: ODST
©Screenshot of Halo 3: ODST – Original
Made around the same time as Reach, Halo 3: ODST gave players the chance to play as a normal trooper not advanced by science or a suit of armor.
Halo 3
©Screenshot from Halo 3 – Original
Finishing the original story, Halo 3 capped off the original war against the Covenant.
Halo 4
©Screenshot of Halo 4. – Original
343 Industries first Halo game had mixed reviews. While some were excited to return to the world, many were disappointed with the storyline.
Halo 5
©Promotional art for Halo 5 – Original
Probably one of the worst received Halo games, Halo 5 did a great job with the multiplayer even though the campaign was lackluster.
Halo Wars 2
©Promotional art for Halo Wars 2 – Original
Halo Wars 2 introduced the main antagonist for Halo Infinite in the RTS series. Brutes were now at the top of the food chain.
Halo Infinite
©Screenshot from Halo Infinite – Original
The latest installment in the series, Halo Infinite, had a relatively positive launch followed by a sharp decline in the player base. In recent months, the game has made strides to the top of Twitch, with big time streamers now promoting the game.
Halo Release Order
- Halo: Combat Evolved
- Release Year: 2001
- Playable Platforms: Xbox, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
- Halo 2
- Release Year: 2004
- Playable Platforms: Xbox, Microsoft Windows
- Halo 3
- Release Year: 2007
- Playable Platforms: Xbox 360
- Halo Wars
- Release Year: 2009
- Playable Platforms: Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows
- Halo 3: ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Troopers)
- Release Year: 2009
- Playable Platforms: Xbox 360
- Halo: Reach
- Release Year: 2010
- Playable Platforms: Xbox 360, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
- Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
- Release Year: 2011
- Playable Platforms: Xbox 360, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
- Halo 4
- Release Year: 2012
- Playable Platforms: Xbox 360, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
- Halo 5: Guardians
- Release Year: 2015
- Playable Platforms: Xbox One
- Halo Wars: Definitive Edition
- Release Year: 2017 (Remastered version of the original Halo Wars from 2009)
- Playable Platforms: Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
- Halo Wars 2
- Release Year: 2017
- Playable Platforms: Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
- Halo Infinite
- Release Year: 2021
- Playable Platforms: Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Cloud Gaming (Project xCloud)
The image featured at the top of this post is ©343 Industries .