Halo: Campaign Evolved has launched in early access, earning critical praise but also frustration from Xbox players facing technical issues. However, for PC gamers stuck with older hardware due to the ongoing RAM crisis and rising GPU prices, there is good news. Our colleagues at PC Gamer have discovered through extensive testing that Halo: Campaign Evolved can be played on low graphical settings while looking almost as good as on Ultra. This allows for high frame rates without sacrificing visual fidelity, a welcome relief in an era where acquiring a powerful GPU is increasingly difficult.
Remarkable performance on modest hardware
James Bentley, Hardware Writer at PC Gamer, tested the game on various systems: NVIDIA RTX 3070, RTX 4070 Super, RTX 5080, and AMD RX 9070. The difference between Low and Ultra settings proved surprisingly subtle. According to Bentley, "the difference between Low and Ultra is incredibly slight and, frankly, not worth the performance hit." The main differences are slightly more detailed blood textures and weapon lighting on Ultra, while foliage details, lighting softness, and shadow textures are barely noticeable. This means players with older GPUs can enjoy a high-quality visual experience without needing to purchase expensive cards like the rising-priced RTX 5000 series.
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Higher frame rates with minimal visual trade-offs
Tests show a clear performance boost when switching from Ultra to Low. For example, at 1440p with DLSS set to Ultra, Halo: Campaign Evolved achieves 60 fps on an RTX 3070, 84 fps on an RTX 4070 Super, and 127 fps on an RTX 5080. With low settings and DLSS Low, the same systems reach 82, 148, and 172 fps respectively, an increase of over 20% with nearly identical visual quality. PC Gamer also tested the game on the Xbox ROG Ally X, finding that Ultra or native upscaling severely hampers performance. They recommend using the Very Low preset for smooth gameplay, and also advise turning off motion blur, which degrades the visual experience.
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This level of optimization is a breath of fresh air for PC gamers, who often face poorly optimized AAA titles. While the RAM crisis and rising GPU prices make hardware upgrades difficult, Halo: Campaign Evolved proves that high-quality experiences can be delivered on less powerful machines. For those interested in other technological innovations, a recent article showed how an off-the-shelf thermal camera extended LIGO's reach by 33 million light-years, demonstrating that optimization can occur in very different fields. Read more about that test.
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Halo: Campaign Evolved is available in early access and will officially launch on July 28, 2026 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Windows and Steam. For more about the Halo franchise, you can check the entry on Wikipedia.
