Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

"Ten years ago, Halo introduced millions of fans to an incredible new universe, and delivered billions of hours of entertainment. [...] That was ten years ago, this is now!"

- E3 Announcer

was announced at E3 2011, along with Halo 4. 343 Industries, watching over Saber Interactive, is to release a remake of the classic Halo: Combat Evolved, released in 2001, called Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.

The game will feature upon release 7 classic multiplayer maps, which so far includes Battle Creek, Hang 'Em High and Damnation, support for Xbox Live multiplayer matchmaking, and a complete visual overhaul. In Halo: CE Anniversary, 343 Industries will be graphically revamping the entire game. For example, Master Chief's armor will be graphically enhanced enormously to modern standards, while still retaining the Halo: CE feel by keeping the Master Chief's Mark V armor. Also, the level design in campaign and multiplayer will be enhanced. This means that everything will be more detailed and include more things to fill in the blank space that Halo: CE left behind. This can be likened to the UNSC Pillar of Autumn being upgraded in Halo: Reach to include more detail and visual appeal. In addition, in Microsoft's ViDoc on Anniversary, they stated that the player will have the option to switch between old graphics and revamped graphic/art with the touch of a button.

However, the developers will not be sacrificing the original feel for graphics. In addition, they will be keeping some of the original audio from Halo: CE to contribute to the general nostalgic feeling of the game. Also, the music has been changed from Marty's original soundtrack and replaced with brand new "re-orchestration" from Skywalker Orchestra. Finally, it also has been announced that the game will include the ability to play co-op campaign over Xbox Live. The campaign will run on an enhanced version of the original engine, whereas multiplayer will be powered by the Reach engine. It is currently in debate whether multiplayer and campaign will ship on the same disk, or the full Reach multiplayer will appear on a second disk with the seven new maps, similiar to Halo 3: ODST. It will be released November 15, 2011, which is ten years to the day, Halo: CE was originally released.