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  • While the browser version of Halo: Combat Evolved briefly went down yesterday, it's back online. In a new Twitter post, Michell Hynes, the project's developer, outlined how he created the browser port. It appears to be based on a broader decompilation effort that's resulted in Windows, Linux, and Android ports.

Summary

  • An unofficial browser port of Halo: Combat Evolved supports 128-player multiplayer and split-screen co-op.
  • The game runs poorly on iOS and Android, and PC is recommended for best performance.
  • The port had 20K plays in 5 hours across 115 countries.

To say that the Halo series has struggled over the past few years would be a significant understatement. In fact, the iconic franchise has faced so many issues that Microsoft recently basically shut down Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries) and handed over the series' development to Activision.

On the plus side, you can now play Halo: Combat Evolved for free in your web browser with 128-player split-screen co-op and multiplayer, courtesy of X user @michellhynes (Michaell Hynes) (via Gamingbible). Yes, you read that correctly. That said, Hynes still considers the multiplayer feature "untested."

Hynes also says his very unofficial browser port of Halo: Combat Evolved doesn't run well on iOS or Android, and that playing it on a PC is the best route. Still, it's impressive the 26-year-old game runs in a browser at all, and given I consider Halo: Combat Evolved one of my favorite video games ever, it's a bit of a trip to see it running in a browser.

This browser-based port follows the recently released decompilation of Halo: Combat Evolved by bnunu called Halo-1, which is a fork of punpckhdq's Halo. This led to cybersecurity's halo-ce-universal, a Windows, Linux, Android, and PS5 of the OG Halo.

It's likely it won't be online for very long

Hynes says that in the browser port's first five hours online, nearly 20,000 instances of the game were played across 115 countries, with an average of 94fps. It works pretty smoothly, though. In the few minutes I played the browser port of Halo Combat: Evolved, the experience was surprisingly solid, though I did run into a very brief bit of lag.

You'll also need to wait for certain parts of the game to download before you can keep playing. I haven't tried the experimental multiplayer mode yet, but I'm looking forward to testing it out soon (I've heard good things about it, though).

A screenshot of Halo Combat Evolved in a browser Credit: Michaell Hynes

The game supports controller and mouse-and-keyboard controls. If you're interested in trying this very unofficial port of Halo: Combat Evolved, you can find it at this link.

Of course, this port likely won't be around for long, and Microsoft's army of lawyers will eventually catch up with Hynes and his project, especially given the recent launch of Halo: Campaign Evolved, a pretty solid Unreal Engine 5 remake of Combat Evolved for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

With this in mind, if you're interested in trying out the browser port of Halo: CE, it's a good idea to take it for a spin soon.

UPDATE: 2026/10/01 13:21 EST BY PATRICK O'ROURKE

While the browser version of Halo: Combat Evolved briefly went down yesterday, it's back online. In a new Twitter post, Michell Hynes, the project's developer, outlined how he created the browser port. It appears to be based on a broader decompilation effort that's resulted in Windows, Linux, and Android ports.