Play the original Halo in your web browser with multiplayer capabilities!

If you’ve been scrolling through social media lately, you’ve likely seen some bizarre modded game clips. From Call of Duty operators pulling off kickflips reminiscent of Skate to players tackling Black Ops 1’s zombie mode in Skyrim, and even Miles Morales swinging through Gotham, the creativity is off the charts. Adding to this eclectic mix, someone has managed to get the Xbox version of Halo: Combat Evolved running in a web browser, complete with multiplayer and split-screen support.

The mastermind behind this browser port is software developer Mitchell Hynes. He shared on social media that this version allows for split-screen co-op and multiplayer with up to 128 players. Hynes is hosting the port on a Cloudflare-powered site, featuring the original Xbox version of Combat Evolved, not the less-favored PC release. He mentioned that within the first five hours, around 20,000 players jumped into the web browser port.

The surge of browser ports and wild game mash-ups can be attributed to a new version of Claude, which simplifies the process of creating these mods. Thanks to AI advancements, modders can decompile games—gaining access to their original source code—much more quickly, facilitating their transition to web browsers and other platforms. Halo: Combat Evolved was recently decompiled for the first time, and while the associated GitHub page doesn’t confirm AI involvement, the project’s Discord channel is buzzing with references to Claude.

As for the mash-ups making waves online, many utilize large language models like Claude Opus 5.5, equipped with a universal-modder plugin. This tool allows users to point Claude at any game, providing skills, tools, and the ability to mod nearly any PC game they own, including reverse engineering and in-game testing.

However, this trend isn’t without its complications. Experts have noted that these decompilations and mods often come with a host of bugs due to the “vibe coding” approach. In response, one user compiled a list of decompilation projects that have been handled by humans.

On the legal front, many game publishers are likely displeased to see their titles used in these mashups, even if the modders obtained the original games legally. Additionally, using Claude for these mods raises ecological and ethical concerns typical of AI technology. While these mods may generate entertaining social media clips, they often lack the depth and crafted experience of the original games. Ultimately, they represent a remix of existing works, typically drawn from the AI’s dataset without the original creators’ consent.

As for the web browser version of Halo: Combat Evolved, it’s reasonable to anticipate that Microsoft will take action against this unauthorized port, which remains accessible at the time of writing. Xbox has previously released Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, a remaster of the original, and later brought it to PC through Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Earlier this year, they also launched Halo: Campaign Evolved, a complete remake of the original game’s story mode with additional missions.

A new era for Master Chief.