A jailbroken PlayStation 5 can now run original Xbox games, which is quite ironic, to say the least. Developer ZiZc3 has published XPSemu Alpha 1 on GitHub, a port of the open-source xemu emulator that runs as a native PS5 app. In the developer's own testing, an unmodified Halo 2 holds 30 FPS on average. With the community 60 FPS patch, it apparently reaches 51 to 60 FPS in the opening and 36 to 50 FPS during gameplay. Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex is said to run smoothly as well. The other results, however, are less impressive. Forza Motorsport drops to 15 to 21 FPS in races, and Fable: The Lost Chapters falls to 10 to 20 FPS in heavy scenes. It looks like the CPU is the limit here.

ZiZc3 says the emulated Xbox CPU thread stays at 85 to 97% load while the GPU sits mostly idle. That spare headroom lets you raise the internal resolution by 4x at almost no cost. You'll need your own Xbox BIOS, MCPX boot ROM, hard disk image, and games as XISO files, since discs aren't supported. Save states are missing, and audio DSP emulation is off by default because it hurts performance. Frame generation through an FSR 3 port is on the roadmap. XPSemu comes about a week after ProsperoEden brought Switch games to jailbroken PS5s and the Relapse exploit unlocked nearly every PS5 model, so more ports like this are probably on the way.

The situation at Xbox and Halo Studios has been in the news a lot recently, starting with an announcement by the former that it would be gutting Halo Studios and putting Activision in charge of the next Halo game, with a "small team" at Halo Studios assisting Activision with development of the next Halo. It was later revealed that the small team left at Halo Studios was just 20 employees, and that Activision would be rebooting the Halo franchise with little to no semblance of the franchise's original history slated to be in the next game.

Now, thanks to a report by The Verge, it seems as though we have the justification for Activision starting from scratch on the new Halo game. According to the report, the next Halo being developed under Halo Studios was years away from shipping. Reports from ubiquitous leakers in the Halo scene report that several internal projects have been cancelled at the studio, including Halo 2 and three remakes and Halo 7. Despite the fact that Halo 7 appears to have been in-development already, Activision has decided to start from scratch, assembling a specialized team that will be in-charge of the next Halo game. However, by it also appears as though the earliest we can expect a new Halo game is 2030.

With Halo: Campaign Evolved, the remake of Combat Evolved having been confirmed to launch in 2026, replete with a PS5 launch, rumors have started circulating that the 2004 and 2007 Halo 2 and Halo 3 will also be getting a remake, supposedly also courtesy of Halo Studios. These leaks come courtesy of @leaks_infinite on X, a prolific leaker who previously tipped the upcoming Campaign Evolved game, so there's a solid chance they're legitimate. No release date has yet been revealed by the leaker's source, suggesting that the release date would still be a way out, although there are a handful of details that have been revealed.

As with the Combat Evolved, Halo 2 and 3 will be complete remakes of the games, but with the addition of sprinting and with the multiplayer game modes stripped out. Supposedly, multiplayer gameplay is reserved for Halo 7, the next modern release in the franchise, with the justification that having multiplayer in too many Halo games would result in the different games in the franchise simply competing against themselves, ultimately resulting in a diminished experience for all of the games involved. This means that all the focus for the remakes will also go into the campaigns and general single-player gameplay, which has many Halo fans excited about the prospect of the remakes.

Microsoft has confirmed that Halo: The Master Chief Collection will be receiving a next-generation upgrade for the Xbox Series X/S. The upgrades include 120 FPS support in Campaign & Multiplayer game modes along with split-screen improvements. These updates are similar to the improvements found in the PC version of the game which has been progressively releasing. The Xbox Series X version will also be receiving 4K support when the upgrade launches on November 17th as a free update for owners of the game. The Halo: The Master Chief Collection will also be available through Xbox Game Pass and contains Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, and Halo 4.

Microsoft Game Studios and 343 Industries have released halo 2: Anniversary for the PC platform. Being distributed as a package via The Master Chief Collection (which already includes Halo: Reach and Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary), the game takes you through the second installment in the Master Chief's saga to protect humanity from the Covenant. The game has been fully optimized for the PC platform, as have previous releases.

The second installment in the sage features dual-wielding, as well as a dual-character campaign where you'll swap between the POV of the Master Chief and the Arbiter, a Sangheili commander fallen from grace in the wake of the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. The new Anniversary remaster of Halo 2 is a remaster in more than graphics, but in spirit as well, featuring added prologue and epilogue cutscenes, in-game terminals for you to bask in the glorious lore of the Halo universe, and reinterpreted cutscenes made by none-other than the amazing Blur Studios. The game and its contained updates for the Master Chief Collection will come in at 41.5 GB. Halo 2: Anniversary is available stand-alone for €9.99, or as part of The Master Chief Collection, which for €39.99, also includes Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and the storytelling masterpiece that is Halo 4.

Microsoft has recently announced all the game arrivals and departures coming to Xbox Game Pass for PC & Xbox this month. PC gamers are receiving Halo 2 Anniversary, Final Fantasy IX, Streets of Rage 4, and Endless Legend while console gamers are getting Red Dead Redemption 2, DayZ, Final Fantasy IX, Streets of Rage 4, and Fractured Minds.

The over 10 million subscribers' strong service will also lose several games this May 15th for both PC and Xbox. PC users will lose Imperator: Rome, Rise of the Tomb Raider, The Banner Saga, West of Loathing and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus while console users will lose Grand Theft Auto V, Black Desert, Doom, Lego Ninjago Movie Video Game, Mega Man Legacy Collection 2, Metal Gear Survive, The Banner Saga, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus.

Another installment in the Halo: The Master Chief Collection for PC is gearing up for release. 343 Industries via its Halo Twitter account has just posted an announcement of the coming release on the second numbered installment on the Halo series. The remastered Halo 2 Anniversary was released as part of the Master Chief Collection's original release for the Xbox One way back in 2014, remastering a 2004 video game.

The last time an actual Halo game made its way to PC was 2007 when Halo 2 launched three years after the console version to little fanfare, as it required the Windows Vista operating system. Since then Microsoft has not bothered to release any of the mainstream titles on PC. However, that is no longer the case as Microsoft has announced that they will be bringing Halo: The Master Chief Collection to PC. While some may think it too little too late, considering the Master Chief Collection initially launched nearly five years ago, the fact remains with this release PC gamers now have access to the majority of the series including Halo 1, 2, 3, 4, ODST, and Reach which was just recently added to the collection. The only title missing at this point is Halo 5.

While a typical re-release is possible it appears that is not the direction 343 Industries will take as they recognize that PC gamers are an exacting bunch and as such have brought in help from Ruffian and Splash Damage studios in order to polish the collection ahead of its debut. As of now, you can expect support for 4K resolution, 60 frames per second gameplay, and HDR at least as a minimum along with proper controls. Overall the Master Chief Collection offers a ton of content including 67 campaign missions and 120 multiplayer maps when you include both Horde Survival and Spartan Ops. Pricing and availability currently remain unknown, but at the very least it will be available on Steam meaning it is not a Microsoft Store exclusive. That said, it will still require an Xbox Live account.

A new trailer for Halo 2 is now available for download, showcasing the upcoming PC version which will be launched, exclusively for the Windows Vista operating system. Halo 2 for PC includes the original Xbox game, plus the Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack, as well as a level editor to create your own multiplayer maps. Download the 1:16 min long cinematic and gameplay footage from here.

For over three years, dedicated Halo fans have been waiting for the next installment of the Halo series to finally hit the PC. Whether or not it is an ugly port like the last one was, here are the official system requirements for Halo 2 on the PC.

• Windows Vista
• 2 Ghz Pentium 4 class processor
• 1GB RAM
• 7GB hard disk space
• DX9 graphics card: WDDM driver, PS 2.0/32BPP, At least nVidia 6000 or ATI x700 or above
• DVD-ROM drive
• Internet connection for online play

Halo fans everywhere will be pleased to know that Bungie isn't spending all of it's attention on Halo 3 and Halo 2 Vista. Classic Halo maps, such as Hang em High and Derelict, have found themselves a very nice home on the Xbox 360 version of Halo 2. The maps will cost a mere $4, as download-able add-ons available through the in-game content downloader. It's good to see that Bungie has given the maps a visual refresh, as you can see in the (very small) screenshots below.

Apparently, there was a Halo 3 beta key giveaway we missed. However, not to worry, as Microsoft is letting more people register for free entry into the Halo 3 beta program. All you have to do is play Halo 2 online. According to Microsoft's new "rule of three", you need to play Halo 2 for three hours between Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007, 12:01 a.m. EST and Feb. 3, 2007, 11:59 p.m. EST. If you do, then Microsoft will allow the first 13,333 who complete the three hours to get a free registration to the Halo 3 beta program. If you miss this opportunity, buying a copy of the Xbox360 game "Crackdown" will land you a free Halo 3 beta registration. When the Halo 3 beta is released, people who have Halo 3 beta registrations can download it through Xbox Live.