Halo remake may be single-player only as insider talks of 'a lot of tension'
The future of Halo, once an important franchise synonymous with the Xbox brand, has looked awfully murky ever since the launch and subsequent underperformance of 2021's Halo Infinite.
As such, there appears to be a concerted effort to get the series back on track, with 343 Industries being rechristened as Halo Studios last year and announcing some important changes that will help define the next era of Halo games.
Although nothing concrete is confirmed, multiple Halo projects are in the works, with a remake of the original Halo being a recurring rumour, but the behind the scenes situation is allegedly far less rosy than fans would've hoped.
To assuage the lack of any official news, Halo insider Rebs Gaming (who previously reported on the cancelled plans for Halo Infinite) shared new claims about Halo Studios' future projects.
First and foremost is the aforementioned Halo: Combat Evolved remake, which some believe Xbox boss Phil Spencer teased for next year when he mentioned 'the return of a classic that's been with us since the beginning' at the Xbox summer showcase.
2026 would be the perfect time for a Halo 1 re-release of some kind, since that year marks the 25th anniversary of both the Halo series and the Xbox brand as a whole.
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Rebs Gaming claims that this is precisely the case, according to his own sources. He also says that the game could launch on PlayStation 5, which seems likely when other Xbox exclusives like Gears Of War are seeing releases on Sony's console.
Curiously, Rebs Gaming's sources say they've not heard anything about the remake featuring multiplayer, suggesting it'll only contain the original campaign mode.
This seems bizarre when multiplayer is one of Halo's most popular features, especially as the main campaign is only around 10 hours long.
It's not uncommon for remasters and remakes to leave out the multiplayer mode though, even for something where it's a key component of the original, such as Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Other games, from Mass Effect to The Last Of Us have also omitted their multiplayer in later releases, although the upcoming Gears Of War: Reloaded will retain its.
Aside from that, Rebs Gaming says an 'indirect sequel' to Halo Infinite, which he dubs Halo 7, is in the works, as well as a dedicated multiplayer game called Project Ekur.
Apparently, Project Ekur is being built from the bones of the previously rumoured battle royale spin-off, Project Tatanka, though development is being handled by Certain Affinity, which has served as a support studio for the Halo series' multiplayer since Halo 2.
While this might all sound quite exciting, especially since at least one of these projects is likely to be unveiled at the Halo World Championships this October, a separate report paints a rather bleaker picture of Halo Studios.
In the wake of the latest round of Xbox layoffs, an anonymous developer at Halo Studios spoke with Endgadget, revealing that five of their co-workers had been let go and expressing rightful indignation over the email Phil Spencer sent out, boasting that the Xbox business was highly profitable – despite thousands of job losses.
'I'm personally super p****d that Phil's email to us bragged about how this was the most profitable year ever for Xbox in the same breath as pulling the lever. I wasn't sure what part of that I was supposed to be proud about,' said the developer.
They also insisted that Microsoft is 'trying their damndest to replace as many jobs as they can with AI agents,' which is perfectly believable with how much Microsoft as a whole is investing in AI technology.
However, these layoffs weren't a tipping point. Things have apparently been tense within Halo Studios for a long while, with one unidentified project said to have recently been in a state of crisis.
'I don't think anybody is really happy about the quality of the product right now,' the developer added. 'There's been a lot of tension and pep talks trying to rally folks to ship.'
All this makes sense when you remember how tumultuous things were at Halo Studios in 2023. At the beginning of the year, the Halo Infinite campaign team was gutted as part of previous layoffs, with former employees blaming upper management for 'incompetent leadership.'
Both franchise director Frank O'Connor and head of creative Joseph Staten also opted to leave Microsoft, continuing a worrying trend of high profile Halo exits.
There was even chatter of Halo Studios no longer being allowed to make new games and being reduced to overseeing third party studios. While that hasn't happened, the studio was reportedly downsized in 2024, with the new plan being to outsource development to contracted studios.
This is something Endgadget's report has corroborated. Although there's no mention of Halo Studios only working in a supervisory role, there has been a shift since 2023 towards contracting other studios to help speed up production on Halo projects.
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Metro
2 hours ago
- Metro
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound review - don't rage against the machine
After a long hiatus, the makers of Blasphemous 2 bring back Ninja Gaiden, with a 2D action game that should please both new players and veteran fans. It seems appropriate that the one Japanese-made franchise most closely associated with Xbox (alongside sister series Dead Or Alive) is also one that was largely unknown to European gamers, even in its early days. Ninja Gaiden started off in arcades, as a fairly ordinary scrolling beat 'em-up, which in Europe was known as Shadow Warriors. It was ported to various home computer formats of the day, including the Amiga, but it was the NES game, also from 1988, that defined the franchise for the next four decades. Created in parallel with the arcade game, the NES title was more of an action platformer, noted for its excellent graphics and extreme difficulty. Given the arcade game had a different name and the NES was never very successful in Europe – as a result of arriving years late and with a sky high price tag – most European gamers assumed the 2004 Xbox title was the first game in the franchise. Although versions of the game and its sequel were also released on PlayStation it's still thought of as primarily an Xbox game, although the double whammy of Ninja Gaiden 3 and Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z put the whole franchise on ice for over a decade. But now it's back, with PlatinumGames developing Ninja Gaiden 4 and, ironically, Spanish studio The Game Kitchen making this 2D homage to the original games. The Game Kitchen is best known for the two Blasphemous games, which are an excellent pair of 2D Metroidvanias with a Dark Souls influence. Despite what you might imagine, Ragebound doesn't have much in common with them and it's definitely not a Metroidvania. It's also not that similar to the NES game, although that is clearly the primary influence. Although series protagonist Ryu Hayabusa is in the game you spend the majority of your time playing as his protégé Kenji Mozu, who starts off the game having to protect Hayabusa Village from yet another demon invasion. Thankfully, whether demon or human, most enemies succumb fairly easily to your sword and while the game is never easy the first few hours are certainly less difficult than you might imagine. There are some welcome complications to Kenji's repartee, with the ability to deflect projectiles and make use of enemies with a blue aura, who after you kill them leave you hypercharged so that the next enemy you attack dies in one hit. Although you can also hypercharge yourself at any moment by sacrificing a portion of your health. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. As well as a dodge roll and climbing up walls, and across ceilings, Kenji can also perform a Guillotine boost , which allows him to bounce off projectiles and enemies for a double jump. That feels like something straight out of the NES game, but again it's a lot easier to pull off than you'd think in the early stages. A little way into the story you encounter Kumori, a female member of the Black Spider Clan – the traditional enemies of the series. Both are at death's door when they meet, which results in Kumori fusing with Kenji and he being able to use her long range kunai attacks and the ability to teleport short distances. This opens up the gameplay in various ways, with enemies that have a pink aura, that have to be killed with Kumori's weapons to trigger a hypercharge, and more powerful weapons like a chakram (the circular throwing weapon Xena used to use). On top of this is a smart bomb-like magic attack and various defensive powers, like a shield, as well as timed platform sections where you control Kumori directly, but against a very strict time limit. That's just about the right size of moveset for a 2D action game and for the first several hours it's a lot of fun, even if it's not really doing anything new and the pixel art is a little drab at times. Coming from publisher Dotemu, who's been responsible for Streets Of Rage 4 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, you can't help but wish for 2D animation of that quality but while Ragebound has a few nice flourishes it's never that ostentatious. There's some good mission variety though, considering the limitations, with levels scrolling in different directions, hidden areas and collectables, and vehicle sections, such as Kumori's introduction on the back of a motorbike. More Trending The most surprising thing about the game is that it's not that difficult. It's definitely above average but not the ultra-punishing perversity that previous Ninja Gaiden titles would lead you to expect. There is a hard mode though, and some ultra difficult secret levels, so veteran fans shouldn't feel abanonded. But we found the game's more reasonable challenge to be very refreshing, allowing you to enjoy the mechanics instead of constantly cursing their inflexibility. Things do get harder the further you get, especially with the boss battles, but it's definitely not as spiteful as you'd expect. Ragebound isn't going to change the world, or change anyone's opinion about Ninja Gaiden, but as a prelude to Ninja Gaiden 4 it's very welcome and has a sensibly low price. We always wonder why retro themed games are so obsessed with being overly difficult, since that always seemed the least appealing thing about them, back in the day, and it's nice to see Ragebound confirm that they would be more fun if they were more reasonably minded. Which means that, in actuality, Ragebound is not that rage inducing at all. In Short: A fun restatement of the Ninja Gaiden 2D formula, that is just complex enough to engage both new and old fans, while being surprisingly accessible in terms of its difficulty level. Pros: A neat set of relatively unusual abilities, that requires both skill and forward-thinking to use. Nicely varied level design and some clever boss battles. Great rawk soundtrack. Cons: It's not doing anything very new and the graphics are mostly unremarkable by modern pixel art standards. Later stages are very difficult. Score: 8/10 Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, and PCPrice: £20.99Publisher: DotemuDeveloper: The Game KitchenRelease Date: 31st July 2025 Age Rating: 16 Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Nintendo Direct announced for Thursday but don't expect Metroid Prime 4 MORE: New Switch 2 game leaks ahead of this week's Nintendo Direct MORE: Mario Kart World update makes the game easier but doesn't fix biggest issues
Daily Mail
16 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The retired civil servant and royal fan who swears blind she spotted the Waleses on a £40million superyacht off the coast of an enchanting Greek island
Normally at this time of year the people of the Ionian Islands talk of being overworked and little else. With nearly three million tourists visiting the region during July and August, they certainly have their work cut out. Not that they'd have it any other way, of course. For more than a week, though, another topic, or rather a question, has dominated conversation in bars and tavernas, particularly on beautiful Kefalonia. Has anyone seen Prince William and his family? Locals swear blind that the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children George, 12, Charlotte, ten, and seven-year-old Louis arrived on the island by private Lear jet on July 16. Also in tow, others insisted, were the future King's in-laws, Carole and Michael Middleton. All were then driven to a waiting superyacht. And from there out to azure waters and, well, who knows where? Speculation has been rife. 'Oh yes, sure, I got a picture of their boat,' a taxi driver assures me. He flourishes his smartphone and a photo of the superyacht, Norn, cruising north of the capital Argostoli. He adds: 'It's owned by a Microsoft tycoon, a billionaire tech guy. I know for sure this is the one they're on.' Maybe. But wasn't the smart money on an even bigger boat? On July 19 stories began to surface in the Greek media of how the Prince and Princess were enjoying the largesse of Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a prominent member of the UAE royal family. His £340 million 146-metre (479ft) mega-yacht, Opera, is said to be one of the most opulent private vessels in the world. It boasts every amenity imaginable and in some cases, like Noah's Ark, two of everything – including helipads. While the story was ignored by the British media, it was picked up around the world. The Delhi-based Hindustan Times, for instance, ran its account under the headline 'Prince William, Kate Middleton sailing around Greece on yacht belonging to Emirati sheikh'. Some stories specified restaurants the royals were supposed to have visited. Social media hastened the story's spread, proclaiming certain 'facts' with inflexible certainty. On Kefalonia, meanwhile, where rumours move quicker than the Opera at full tilt, locals added their own embellishments. A taverna waiter in the pretty fishing village of Agia Efimia, where the Opera dropped anchor, tells me the royals were taken to the harbour by tender boat. 'There were about 12 black people carriers waiting for them. Then they were driven to the Melissani Cave which was closed for the day just for them.' But did he see William and Kate and the kids in the flesh? 'No, but my cousin Vangelis did, I'm sure of it.' Once located, however, Vangelis admits: 'I saw their executive cars speeding through the village, but I'm sorry – I cannot truly say that I eyeballed them.' Wiser souls in the village insisted the waiter and his cousin, and many more besides, were simply mistaken. What they really saw, they said, was not the Windsors but the Emiratis – something confirmed when the Daily Mail visited the roofless limestone Melissani Cave. There, cheerful gondoliers row tourists through a stalactite-lined cavern filled with brackish water of a startling ultramarine. One of the gondoliers says: 'It's fake news. The Arab royals and their children came and we closed the cave off for half an hour so they could have a private tour. 'But there was definitely no William and Kate.' It was a similar story at the restaurants on the island where the Prince and Princess and their children were supposed to have 'sampled delightful local delicacies'. Two expressed bemusement but promised a warm welcome should the royals drop by. A third said it was visited by an Opera crew member. 'Nobody from your royal family though,' said the manager. The Ionian Islands are steeped in rich mythology. Was the story of William and Kate's holiday proving just that – a myth? Besides, Lear jets and mega-yachts aren't a particularly good look for a prince who wears his green credentials proudly. William's Earthshot Prize gives £1 million every year to five projects tackling climate challenges. And wasn't it only a couple of months ago that he was hailing Sir David Attenborough on the eve of his new documentary, Ocean? In it, Sir David intones: 'I now understand that if we save the sea we save our world.' And it goes without saying that the great naturalist is decidedly sniffy about fuel-guzzling superyachts, which are said to cause even more damage to the environment than private jets. Maybe William and co had opted for a caravan holiday on the Isle of Wight instead. Sources were still insisting, though, that the royals had 'definitely' landed at Kefalonia's main airport. Then word reached the Daily Mail of a woman – a retired senior civil servant in the Greek defence ministry – who was said to have seen them first hand. The only known person, in fact, to have laid eyes on them. We traced her to her home overlooking enchanting Mavrouna Bay, close to the postcard-pretty village of Kioni on the tiny neighbouring island of Ithaca, which with emerald shores, wooded hills and secluded beaches is even more beautiful than Kefalonia. Aged 64, Penelope Likoudi was born and raised on the island, where she now owns a number of luxury apartments. A friend says: 'She is a respected lady, someone of high standing here.' She's a huge admirer of the royals too, has visited Buckingham Palace and Balmoral, 'devours' everything written about them and 'cried for days' when Princess Diana died. Over lemonade and cake at a cafe overlooking secluded Mavrouna Bay, she takes up the story of her royal encounter. Every day, she says, she swims in the bay, 'where I do exercises in the water for my back'. Last Tuesday was no different but this time there was a yacht moored about 100 metres or so from the shore and vaguely mindful of the stories of William and Kate, she decided to check it out. 'It was a possibility as a lot of celebrities come to this very spot. I think it was sometime after 11.30 in the morning,' she recalled. 'I swam out beyond the warning buoy and was about 30 metres (100ft) from the yacht when I saw them. Kate was standing on the top level with Charlotte and Louis. She was wearing a dark wraparound dress. 'There was an older lady next to them, possibly Kate's mother, but I wasn't able to see her well. 'I literally shivered with excitement. I was shocked, I couldn't believe it. 'Now I wish I'd called out hello to them. But I didn't, I got star-struck and couldn't get the words out. There was no sign of William or George though.' Did they see her? 'I think they must have done. I was the only one swimming that far out. You know, there was only a handful of locals on the beach.' 'They were looking at the wonderful bays, all green with trees coming all the way down to the sea. And I thought that maybe they would take out a boat so I waited for a bit,' she said. 'There was some sort of movement in the lower deck – the crew were untying something. 'But I couldn't stay long. I have only limited time because my mother is 94 and bedridden and I needed to get back to her. First though, when I got to dry land, I went to the top point of the cape and took some pictures of the boat with my phone.' It transpires that the Prince and Princess were in fact on the 50 metre (164ft) Almax, one of the world's first fuel-cell superyachts which is estimated to be worth £40million. Built by Italian firm San Lorenzo, it is described as a 'huge milestone in the future of sustainable boating'. That at least should deflect any criticism heading the Prince's way. Sure enough, Penelope's sighting tallies with maritime records which show that the Almax left Kioni the following day. It returned to Argostoli on Friday. There remains one mystery. Witnesses saw a different party exit the boat the next morning. So had the royals got off elsewhere? Intriguingly, on the morning Almax left Mavrouna there were said to be several other superyachts in the bay, including the Norn, the boat mentioned by the taxi driver when I first arrived in Kefalonia. 'The bay is like a catwalk for these yachts,' said a gift shop owner, adding that basketball legend Michael Jordan's yacht was 'also here on the same day'. Before Almax sped north a man arrived on Norn – which is owned by Microsoft mogul Charles Simonyi – by helicopter. Some locals speculated fancifully that it might be William. Unlikely, says Penelope. 'But either way, it's a shame I didn't get to see him.' Others in Kioni spoke of a visit William and Harry made to the village with their mother in 1995. 'Perhaps he was making a nostalgic return, a trip down memory lane,' says one woman. 'The English royals love it here. Charles and Diana stopped off on their honeymoon. And Charles and Camilla came ashore at Mavrouna in 2012. 'Now William has returned like Odysseus.' The Greek hero's delayed return to Ithaca is the plot of Homer's epic poem Odyssey. As Penelope heads for home, she speaks of the 'magic of Mavrouna and its special energy'. She adds: 'Kate has been unwell and I hope their holiday helped them. I hope they come back again. But I have no wish to see Harry and Meghan as I just can't stand them. 'For now I will treasure this special memory. I just wish I'd said hello. Maybe we could have had a chat.' William and Charlotte subsequently flew to Switzerland on Sunday to cheer on the Lionesses as they won the Euros final. It is understood that the family are now back in Britain.
Daily Mirror
16 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
You need eyes of a sniper to find hidden pencil lead in just 7 seconds
Sharpen your visual skills with this devilishly difficult brainteaser that most people fail. Seriously, you'll need eagle eyes and rapid reaction skills to crack this one Put your visual skills to the ultimate test with this mind-boggling brainteaser. It's quite literally like trying to find a needle in a haystack... With the summer holidays in full swing, it won't be long until our little ones start complaining that they're bored. Solving riddles and cryptic puzzles is a great way to occupy them - even if it's just for a couple of minutes - and can actually have a positive impact on their central nervous system. Now, this won't magically transform them into a genius, or guarantee that they'll get into Oxford University, but it could help improve their attention span and concentration levels. Plus, it's better than them spending hours on their Xbox every night. The image above first appears to be a complete jumble. As previously reported, there's so much going on it's all pretty chaotic - and if you stare at it for too long, it might make your eyes ache as the patterns start to blend into one. But persist in scrutinising the image, as hidden amongst the whirls of colour is a very specific object - a pencil lead. You need to find it in just seven seconds or less to prove you have the eyes of an eagle. We're not giving away any clues on this one, but zooming in on the image may help you spot the rogue object quicker. If you're still feeling utterly stumped, you can scroll down to the bottom of the article to find the answer - but no cheating! If that deceptively difficult brainteaser didn't even make you break a sweat, check out this super challenging quiz that's bound to fool you. At first glance, all of these questions may seem like your standard pub quiz, but each one is strategically designed to trip you up. You can only spend three seconds on each question before you have to move on to the next, and you can only read each question once. Most people score just seven out of 10, so you need to get at least eight correct to prove you're a genius. Once you're done, you can check your answers here. Which part of the human body contains the three smallest bones? According to legend, which King would gather with his knights at the round table? What animal is the largest land carnivore by mass? What bird completes the title of the famous book 'To Kill A...'? In what decade did India gain independence from Britain? In the human body, what is the scientific name for the voice box? Caracas is the capital of which South American country? What is the scientific study of the weather called? Who played Bane in the 2012 Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises? "Load up on guns, bring your friends. It's fun to lose and to pretend," are lyrics from which famous song? ANSWER: The lead is lurking just above the middle of the photograph. You may need to magnify the image to spot it properly, but if you focus on the centre of the snap, the pencil lead should be positioned diagonally up towards the left - roughly at 11 o'clock if you imagine a clock.
