Halo: Combat Evolved · Xbox · Microsoft Game Studios · 2001
Halo: Combat Evolved launched alongside the Xbox in November 2001 in the console's standard green-trimmed case, with Master Chief on the cover — packaging that became the most recognisable image of Microsoft's first console.
Halo: Combat Evolved, developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft, was a North American launch title for the Xbox on 15 November 2001. Like every original Xbox game, it shipped in a keep case with the platform's green Xbox banner across the top, and its cover showed Master Chief holding an assault rifle. The game quickly became the Xbox's defining release, and it was later bundled with the console and reissued in the Platinum Hits budget range with altered cover trade dress. Collectors therefore distinguish first-print launch copies from the later reissues.
Providing the cover image most associated with the original Xbox — Master Chief as the face of Microsoft's first console.
Microsoft bought Bungie in 2000 and turned Halo, originally shown as a Mac and PC game, into an Xbox launch exclusive. The game's packaging followed the standard Xbox template; its distinctiveness came from the cover itself, which put Master Chief — then a new character — front and centre.
Halo's success led to multiple printings, console bundles and a Platinum Hits reissue. Collectors use these packaging differences to identify first-print launch copies, which remain modestly sought after because of the game's place in Xbox history.