There are two correct answers to the question of all Halo games in order, and which one you want depends on why you are asking. Release order is how the story was designed to be revealed, with each game withholding information the next one pays off. Chronological order is how the events actually happen across the timeline, and it starts twenty-one years before Master Chief wakes up. Both lists are below, along with the practical answer: which collection to buy and which game to actually launch first.
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Here is the quick reference for the eight essential Halo games and where each one is playable today.
| Game | Platform | Genre | Why It’s Great | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary | Xbox (via MCC), PC | Sci-fi FPS | The sandbox blueprint every console shooter copied afterwards | 9.5/10 |
| Halo 2: Anniversary | Xbox (via MCC), PC | Sci-fi FPS | Dual-wielding, the Arbiter’s arc and remade cinematics | 9.4/10 |
| Halo 3 | Xbox (via MCC), PC | Sci-fi FPS | The trilogy payoff, with equipment, Forge and Theater | 9.6/10 |
| Halo 3: ODST | Xbox (via MCC), PC | Sci-fi FPS | A slower, noir-tinged campaign played as a normal human trooper | 8.9/10 |
| Halo: Reach | Xbox (via MCC), PC | Sci-fi FPS | Bungie’s farewell and the best-paced campaign in the series | 9.3/10 |
| Halo 4 | Xbox (via MCC), PC | Sci-fi FPS | 343’s debut, built around the Chief and Cortana’s relationship | 8.7/10 |
| Halo 5: Guardians | Xbox One | Sci-fi FPS | The best-feeling movement and the strongest competitive multiplayer | 8.2/10 |
| Halo Infinite | Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC | Sci-fi FPS | Open-world Zeta Halo plus free-to-play multiplayer with the grappleshot | 8.6/10 |
All Halo Games in Order of Release
This is the order Bungie and later 343 Industries actually shipped them, and the order that preserves every reveal:
- Halo: Combat Evolved (2001, Xbox)
- Halo 2 (2004, Xbox)
- Halo 3 (2007, Xbox 360)
- Halo Wars (2009, Xbox 360)
- Halo 3: ODST (2009, Xbox 360)
- Halo: Reach (2010, Xbox 360)
- Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (2011, Xbox 360)
- Halo 4 (2012, Xbox 360)
- Halo: Spartan Assault (2013, mobile and Xbox)
- Halo: The Master Chief Collection (2014, Xbox One; PC from 2019)
- Halo: Spartan Strike (2015, mobile and PC)
- Halo 5: Guardians (2015, Xbox One)
- Halo Wars 2 (2017, Xbox One and PC)
- Halo Infinite (2021, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC)
Bungie developed everything up to and including Reach before parting ways with Microsoft to make Destiny. 343 Industries took over from Combat Evolved Anniversary onward, and in October 2024 the studio was renamed Halo Studios and announced it was moving development to Unreal Engine 5 after two decades on the in-house Slipspace and Blam engines.
All Halo Games in Chronological Story Order
If you want the timeline instead, the in-universe dates run like this:
- Halo Wars — 2531, during the early Human-Covenant War
- Halo: Reach — August 2552, the fall of humanity’s fortress world
- Halo: Combat Evolved — September 2552, immediately after Reach falls
- Halo 2 — October to November 2552
- Halo 3: ODST — October 2552, running concurrently with the middle of Halo 2
- Halo 3 — November to December 2552
- Halo: Spartan Assault — 2554, in the post-war period
- Halo 4 — 2557, after four and a half years adrift
- Halo 5: Guardians — 2558
- Halo Wars 2 — 2559
- Halo Infinite — 2560
The neat thing about this list is how tightly the original trilogy is compressed: Reach, Combat Evolved, Halo 2, ODST and Halo 3 all take place inside roughly five months. ODST is the interesting case, because it overlaps with Halo 2 rather than following it — you are on Earth during the New Mombasa invasion while the Chief is elsewhere.
Which Order Should You Actually Play Halo In?
Release order, without much debate. Halo: Reach was built as a prequel and lands hardest when you already know that the planet falls and what the Chief will find afterwards. Playing it first turns its ending from a gut-punch into a shrug. Combat Evolved also does the essential work of introducing the Halo ring, the Flood and the Covenant as mysteries, and chronological order spoils all three.
The one sensible deviation: play Halo Wars whenever you like, or skip it. It is a real-time strategy game, it sits two decades earlier in the timeline, and it has almost no bearing on the mainline story until Halo Wars 2 picks up the thread. RTS on a controller is a genuine adjustment, and if you are playing it on PC our gaming mouse buying guide is more relevant than usual.
The Master Chief Collection Covers Most of the List
Halo: The Master Chief Collection is the single best purchase in the series. One package includes Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST’s campaign, Halo 4 and Halo: Reach — six games, all campaigns, all multiplayer, cross-play between Xbox and PC, and up to 120fps on Series X. It is also on Game Pass.
The Anniversary versions let you switch between remastered and original graphics with a button press mid-game, which is a genuinely lovely touch for anyone who played the originals. The collection covers everything on the release-order list except Halo Wars, Halo Wars 2, Halo 5 and Halo Infinite. High-framerate Halo on PC benefits enormously from the right panel — see our high refresh rate gaming monitor buying guide — and competitive multiplayer is where a proper gaming headset buying guide earns its keep, since Halo’s audio cues carry real positional information.
The Gaps: Halo 5 and Halo Infinite
Halo 5: Guardians is the awkward one. It never came to PC, it is not in the Master Chief Collection, and it remains Xbox One exclusive — playable on Series X|S via backwards compatibility. Its campaign is the least loved in the series, splitting time between the Chief’s Blue Team and Spartan Locke’s Fireteam Osiris, but its movement and multiplayer are excellent, and its plot sets up Infinite directly.
Halo Infinite is the current entry, and it split itself in two: a free-to-play multiplayer component anyone can download, and a paid open-world campaign set on the fractured Zeta Halo. The grappleshot changed how Halo traversal feels more than any addition since dual-wielding, and the multiplayer sandbox is the closest the series has come to the Halo 3 feel in fifteen years. Our Xbox Series X SSD expansion buying guide is worth reading before you install the whole collection, because MCC plus Infinite eats storage fast.
Halo Spin-Offs and Where They Fit in Order
Two top-down twin-stick shooters sit at the edges of the list. Halo: Spartan Assault, released in 2013, is set in 2554 between Halo 3 and Halo 4 and follows Sarah Palmer and Edward Davis in Spartan training simulations. Halo: Spartan Strike followed in 2015 with the same engine and a New Mombasa setting. Neither is essential and neither is on modern Xbox storefronts in a straightforward way, but both are short and inoffensive if you want completionist coverage.
Halo Wars 2, by contrast, matters more than its RTS label suggests, because it introduces Atriox and the Banished — the faction that becomes Halo Infinite’s primary antagonist. If you plan to play Infinite’s campaign, an afternoon with Halo Wars 2’s cutscenes is genuinely useful groundwork. Strategy games on PC are also the strongest argument for a proper desk setup; our gaming desk and mount buying guide covers it.
Where the Series Goes Next
Halo Studios announced Halo: Campaign Evolved in October 2025 — a from-the-ground-up remake of Combat Evolved built in Unreal Engine 5, planned for 2026 and, for the first time in the franchise’s history, launching on PlayStation 5 alongside Xbox and PC. That is the headline shift: Halo is no longer an Xbox-exclusive series.
What that means for anyone working through the list now is simple: start with the Master Chief Collection, play in release order, and treat Campaign Evolved as a future re-run rather than a reason to wait. If you are building a PC to play the whole run at high framerate, our mid-range gaming PC build guide covers a sensible spec for it.
Frequently Asked Questions About All Halo Games in Order
Should I play all Halo games in chronological or release order?
Release order is strongly recommended. Halo: Reach and Halo Wars are prequels designed to be played after the originals, and starting chronologically spoils the central mysteries of Combat Evolved, including what the Halo ring actually is and the existence of the Flood.
Which Halo games are included in the Master Chief Collection?
Six: Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST’s campaign, Halo 4 and Halo: Reach. That covers every mainline shooter except Halo 5: Guardians and Halo Infinite, and it is available on Xbox, PC and Game Pass with cross-play.
Why is Halo 5 not on PC or in the collection?
Halo 5: Guardians was built exclusively for Xbox One and was never ported, which leaves it the only mainline Halo campaign unavailable on PC. It runs on Xbox Series X and Series S through backwards compatibility, so an Xbox console remains the only way to play it.
Do I need to play Halo Wars to understand the main story?
No. Both Halo Wars games are real-time strategy spin-offs following the crew of the Spirit of Fire, and they run largely parallel to the Master Chief’s storyline. Halo Wars 2 does introduce the Banished faction that later appears in Halo Infinite, making it useful but not essential context.
