Halo: Campaign Evolved PS5 players will require an Xbox account and gamertag to play – as well as PS Plus to play split-screen co-op

UPDATE 21/06/26: Halo Studios has now updated its original Halo Waypoint story to confirm that “a PlayStation Plus account is NOT required for local splitscreen co-op”.

While, as detailed above, the Halo Waypoint post initially insisted that “if you’re playing split-screen of PS5, both accounts will need to have PlayStation Plus and be linked to a Microsoft account”, the text on the blogpost has now been changed to read: “PlayStation 5: If you’re playing splitscreen local co-op on PlayStation 5, both players will need to be signed into PlayStation accounts and be linked to Microsoft accounts. A PlayStation Plus account is NOT required for local splitscreen co-op. Online network co-op play requires an active PlayStation Plus subscription”.

Original story follows.

ORIGINAL STORY 20/06/26: Players will require an Xbox account and gamertag to Halo: Campaign Evolved on PS5.

That’s according to a new Community Q&A posted to Halo Waypoint, which confirms that “just as you do today for Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Halo Infinite to ensure smooth cross-platform progression, to play Halo: Campaign Evolved you will need a Microsoft account and Xbox Gamertag, regardless of the platform(s) you play on”.

The Q&A also intimates that players will also need to have a live PlayStation Plus subscription “and be linked to a Microsoft account” to play split-screen on PS5.

“Just as you do today for Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Halo Infinite to ensure smooth cross-platform progression, to play Halo: Campaign Evolved you will need a Microsoft account and Xbox Gamertag, regardless of the platform(s) you play on,” the company said. “This enables both cross-platform play and cross-platform progression.”

Here’s the full list of what’s needed, depending upon what console you’re playing on:

• Xbox Series X|S: If you’re playing split-screen on an Xbox console, the second player will also need a unique Microsoft account. If you want to play online co-op, you will need an active Xbox Game Pass subscription.
• PlayStation 5: If you’re playing split-screen on PlayStation 5, both accounts will need to have PlayStation Plus and be linked to a Microsoft account. Having these active PlayStation Plus subscriptions will also provide access to online co-op play.
• Steam: If you’re playing via Steam, you will need to link to a Microsoft account.

“If you’d like to jump in immediately on July 28, we recommend having an Xbox account created beforehand to help save time once you put the disc in the tray,” Xbox advised.

“Nintendo has a console you can just pop controllers off of and be playing local multiplayer in 5 seconds,” wrote one unhappy commenter. “Meanwhile, they’re asking you two subscriptions just for the same [privilege]. The f*ck is this??????????????”

The Q&A also revealed that there are currently no plans to restock the Collector’s Edition and insisted that its retail partners “have audited orders and found no evidence of widespread scalping”.

ICYMI, no, Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise didn’t nearly voice Halo’s famous protagonist Master Chief, and Hollywood superstar Julia Roberts wasn’t nearly in Halo either. There was a conversation at a party once, though, between a casting agent and Halo voice director and composer Marty O’Donnell, but that’s as far as it got.

We were really pleasantly surprised by Halo: Campaign Evolved when we played it.