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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteStart with Halo 3: ODST. Halo: New Covenant is described as a fan-made campaign mod built on Halo 3: ODST, not as a new official standalone Halo game. ODST is therefore the relevant game to own and understand first. If you want the official story event immediately before the setting described for the mod, play Halo 3; if you want a different kind of Halo campaign, choose from the recommendations below by tone, era and platform.
The project description published on January 21, 2025 said that three missions were complete, a fourth was in development, and the intended campaign supported solo play and up to four-player co-op. It also advertised Steam Workshop availability from January 31, 2025. Those are historical claims, not confirmation of the mod’s present availability, mission count or co-op behavior.
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What Halo: New Covenant is
The first decision is correcting the premise. The available project description presents Halo: New Covenant as a fan campaign mod for Halo 3: ODST. It takes the story in a new direction after Halo 3, but it is not presented as an official release in the main Halo catalogue. That distinction affects what you should buy, what continuity you can expect and how much confidence to place in old project-status information.
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Because the mod uses ODST as its named base game, ODST is the only recommendation with a direct technical relationship to New Covenant. The other games in this guide are official campaigns selected for continuity, atmosphere or a useful contrast. None should be described as a sequel to the mod.
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What the dated project description actually established
- It identified Halo 3: ODST as the base game.
- It said the story followed Halo 3 and moved in a new direction.
- On January 21, 2025, it reported three completed missions and a fourth in progress.
- It intended both single-player and co-op for as many as four players.
- It advertised Steam Workshop availability beginning January 31, 2025.
Those points explain the project’s design and the best starting point, but they do not verify a current download, a current mission total, present platform compatibility or working co-op. Check the project’s current official distribution page before spending money or promising a group an evening with it.
Quick recommendations
| What you want | Best choice | Why it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Play the game the mod is built on | Halo 3: ODST | New Covenant’s project description names ODST as its base game. |
| Follow the official event immediately before the mod’s described setting | Halo 3 | The project description places its story after Halo 3. |
| Experience the series’ earliest campaign design | Halo: Combat Evolved | It is the original campaign foundation and a clean way to see where the combat formula began. |
| Play a darker military prequel | Halo: Reach | Its war-story framing offers a different perspective from the post-Halo 3 direction associated with New Covenant. |
| Continue the original trilogy’s escalation | Halo 2 | It expands the conflict and systems established by the first game. |
| Try the next numbered-era shift | Halo 4 | It begins a distinct chapter after the original trilogy rather than imitating the mod’s fan-made continuity. |
| Play a later official campaign with a broader modern structure | Halo Infinite | It is a separate modern entry, useful when you want a different campaign format instead of a direct follow-up. |
| See the announced remake of the first campaign | Halo: Campaign Evolved | Xbox Wire described it as a remake of Halo: Combat Evolved, not as a continuation of New Covenant. |
Why Halo 3: ODST is the direct answer
ODST is the correct first stop for two practical reasons. It is the named foundation of the mod, and it gives you the campaign systems, setting and content that New Covenant is designed to extend. Starting elsewhere can still be enjoyable, but it leaves you without the original game’s context and may lead you to assume that a fan project follows official canon or uses a different Halo engine.
Play ODST before judging the mod
Use the official ODST campaign as a baseline. Pay attention to how its missions handle exploration, squad separation, environmental storytelling and the relationship between open navigation and more directed combat. A project built on ODST can alter missions and story while still inheriting those underlying expectations. Knowing the base game makes it easier to tell which elements are deliberate New Covenant changes and which are simply ODST’s foundations.
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Do not confuse the base game with current mod support
Owning ODST does not, by itself, prove that a current New Covenant build is available or compatible with your edition. The project description’s Steam Workshop date was an announcement made for January 2025. Store listings, Workshop pages, file requirements and multiplayer behavior can change. Treat the base game as a prerequisite indicated by the project, not as a guarantee that installation will work today.
Solo and co-op expectations
The historical description intended solo play and co-op for up to four players. That is useful when deciding whether the concept suits your group, but it is not a current service promise. Before organizing a session, confirm the present player limit, whether all participants need the same files, which edition is supported and whether the campaign uses peer-to-peer or another connection method. If the current page does not state those details, do not infer them from the 2025 description.
Play Halo 3 for the clearest official lead-in
If your priority is story order rather than mod compatibility, Halo 3 is the best companion recommendation. New Covenant’s description explicitly places its new direction after Halo 3, so the official campaign supplies the event and character context that the fan project assumes. This is a continuity recommendation, not a claim that New Covenant is official canon.
Choose Halo 3 when you want a finished reference point
Halo 3 gives you a complete official campaign before you approach an unfinished or changing fan project. You can finish the story, decide whether its ending leaves you interested in an alternate continuation and then approach New Covenant as a creative interpretation rather than as required franchise history.
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Halo 3 is the preceding event named by the project; ODST is the mechanical and technical base. If you only have time for one game before investigating the mod, ODST is the higher-value choice for compatibility. If you are building a broader story weekend, play Halo 3 first and ODST second, then treat New Covenant as an optional fan continuation.
Other official Halo campaigns worth playing
Halo: Combat Evolved: the cleanest introduction to classic Halo
Choose the first campaign when you want to understand the series’ original combat rhythm and level design before moving through later entries. It is not a sequel to New Covenant, but it is the best historical foundation for seeing how weapons, enemy encounters and exploration developed across the franchise.
This is also the right pick if you prefer a compact, self-contained starting point. You can then move to Halo 2 and Halo 3 in order, or jump to ODST once you understand the broader trilogy. The recommendation is about learning the franchise’s design language, not about a direct connection to the mod.
Halo 2: escalation between the first and third games
Halo 2 is the natural choice for readers who want the original trilogy as a continuous campaign arc. It expands the conflict and perspectives introduced in the first game and makes Halo 3 feel like a conclusion rather than an isolated episode. Play it before Halo 3 if you want the strongest official lead-in to the event New Covenant follows.
Halo: Reach: a prequel with a more tragic war focus
Reach is ideal when you want a campaign that changes the emotional frame instead of extending the post-Halo 3 timeline. Its prequel position means it does not prepare you mechanically for New Covenant, but its military perspective and darker sense of consequence provide a strong contrast with a fan project that imagines what happens after Halo 3.
Pick Reach before ODST if you want to sample the series’ pre-Halo 3 atmosphere first. Pick it after ODST if you would rather preserve the direct base-game connection and use Reach as a deliberate change of pace.
Halo 4: a separate official chapter
Halo 4 begins a different numbered-era direction after the original trilogy. It is useful for readers who want to see how an official sequel handles a new chapter, but it should not be marketed as New Covenant’s official continuation. The two projects have different status: one is an official campaign and the other is a fan-made mod described as taking its own direction.
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- Software Main Type: Game
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- Software Name: Halo Infinite Standard Edition
- ESRB Rating: Rating Pending
- Single Player Supported: Yes
Halo 5: Guardians: choose it for the later-series transition
Halo 5 is a reasonable next step when your goal is to move through the later numbered games rather than remain near the Halo 3 era. It is not the most direct companion to New Covenant, and its value here is comparative: it shows another official interpretation of where the series can go after the original trilogy.
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Infinite is the pick for players who want a later official campaign with a broader, more modern structure. It can follow a playthrough of the numbered entries, or serve as a standalone change after ODST. Do not use its existence to imply that New Covenant belongs to the same official timeline; the project description establishes no such relationship.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where Halo: Campaign Evolved fits
Xbox Wire’s 2025 announcement described Halo: Campaign Evolved as a full remake of the Halo: Combat Evolved campaign. The announcement listed Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Steam and PlayStation 5, with Game Pass planned, and gave a 2026 release plan.
Campaign Evolved is therefore a separate option for someone deciding what to play next. It is not evidence that New Covenant is official, and it is not a direct sequel to the mod. Because the announcement concerns a future release, confirm the current launch date, editions and Game Pass status before treating any of those plans as present availability.
A practical decision guide
If you want the mod itself
- Start by confirming that the current New Covenant project page still identifies Halo 3: ODST as its base game.
- Check the supported edition and platform against the copy of ODST you own.
- Read the current release notes for mission count, dependencies and installation method; do not rely on the January 2025 description for present details.
- Confirm whether the current build supports solo play, co-op and the number of players you intend to invite.
- Install only from the project’s current official distribution channel, then test a solo launch before scheduling co-op.
If you want the closest official story route
- Play Halo 2 if you want the complete run-up through the original trilogy.
- Finish Halo 3, the official event named immediately before New Covenant’s described setting.
- Play Halo 3: ODST to understand the mod’s base game.
- Approach New Covenant as an optional fan interpretation, not as a required canon chapter.
If you want variety rather than continuity
- Choose Reach for a prequel and a heavier military mood.
- Choose Combat Evolved for the original campaign formula.
- Choose Halo 4, Halo 5 or Infinite when you specifically want later official-era design.
- Choose Campaign Evolved when its announced 2026 release is current and you want a remade version of the first campaign.
Recommended play orders
| Order | Best for | Sequence |
|---|---|---|
| Direct mod preparation | Players whose main goal is New Covenant | Halo 3: ODST → verify the current mod build → New Covenant |
| Official lead-in | Players who want the event named before the mod | Halo 3 → Halo 3: ODST → New Covenant |
| Original-trilogy route | Players starting from the beginning | Combat Evolved → Halo 2 → Halo 3 → ODST → New Covenant |
| Prequel-to-mod contrast | Players who prefer a different tone first | Reach → Combat Evolved → Halo 2 → Halo 3 → ODST → New Covenant |
| Official-era survey | Players comparing how the franchise changes | Combat Evolved → Halo 2 → Halo 3 → Reach → Halo 4 → Halo 5 → Infinite |
What not to treat as a playable recommendation
Halo Waypoint’s discussion of Foundry describes it as research and reflection on building Halo in Unreal, not as a game or a technology demo. It should not be added to a play order, presented as a campaign or used as proof that a New Covenant follow-up exists.
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Common mistakes to avoid
- Calling New Covenant an official standalone release. The project description identifies it as a fan-made ODST campaign mod.
- Assuming the January 2025 status is current. Mission count, Workshop availability and co-op support need a current project-page check.
- Promising a specific store edition. Compatibility depends on the mod’s current requirements and the edition available in your region.
- Calling Halo 3, Halo 4 or Campaign Evolved a sequel to the mod. Halo 3 is the prior official event named by the description; the others are separate official campaigns or announcements.
- Planning co-op from an old player-count claim. Confirm the current build and connection requirements before inviting up to four players.
Bottom-line recommendation
Buy or play Halo 3: ODST first if New Covenant is your destination, because it is the fan project’s stated base game. Add Halo 3 when you want the official story immediately before the mod’s described setting. For a wider Halo tour, use Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Reach, Halo 4, Halo 5 and Infinite according to the tone and era you want—not because any of them is an official New Covenant continuation. Treat the mod’s January 2025 mission, Workshop and co-op details as historical until its current project page confirms otherwise.
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