Halo Infinite dropped a free 25th-anniversary bundle: seven cosmetic items available through the end of 2026 for anyone with an active Halo Waypoint account. The Steam page still has strong reviews on the campaign, but multiplayer population has thinned since launch, and the “Halo but on PC in 2026” conversation is livelier than the game’s own player count.
We picked seven Halo Infinite alternatives on Steam that hit the same buttons on PC: 60 Hz feel, arena-shooter movement, sandbox weapons, and enough matchmaking population to actually find a game.
Quick comparison
| Game | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halo: The Master Chief Collection | Every other Halo campaign | No | About 40 USD | Six campaigns, custom games |
| Destiny 2 | Halo’s spiritual successor | Free-to-play core | 30 USD DLC average | Bungie shooter feel |
| DOOM Eternal | Single-player Halo speed | No | About 40 USD | Push-forward combat |
| Titanfall 2 | Best campaign in a shooter this decade | No | About 20 USD | Wall running + mechs |
| Apex Legends | Halo movement in a battle royale | Free | Free | Titanfall movement, hero shooter |
| Splitgate 2 | Portals + shooter | Free | Free | Halo pistol + Portal maps |
| Battlebit Remastered | 254-player arcade shooter | No | About 15 USD | Low-poly, high-player-count |
Why Halo Infinite is not the Halo people wanted
The 25th-anniversary bundle is a nice gesture. It does not solve the underlying issues.
- Population is thin outside prime time. Ranked matchmaking on PC can take minutes at off hours. The Big Team Battle mode has recovered better than 4v4.
- The campaign never got its Season 2 expansion. The open-world Halo Ring was set up for one, and it did not land.
- Forge mode is the reason people are still here. The user-generated content scene is strong; the base game less so.
- Free-to-play multiplayer works. The friction is the cosmetics store, not the entry price.
- Steam Deck runs it, kind of. It is Playable, not Verified, and the anti-cheat has caused issues in the past on Deck’s kernel.
The alternatives
Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Halo: The Master Chief Collection is the entire pre-Infinite Halo run on Steam: Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2 Anniversary, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo 4, and Halo: Reach. Custom games are alive, matchmaking is populated across every game, and the pistol from CE still hits like a truck.
Where it falls short: Halo 4 and Halo 5 (Halo 5 is not on PC at all) split the fanbase. The MCC UI is functional, not clever.
Pricing:
- Base: About 40 USD on Steam for all six games, drops to 15 USD on sale.
- vs Halo Infinite: More content, more populated, older.
Platforms: Windows.
Bottom line: The bigger, better Halo purchase on Steam right now.
Destiny 2
Destiny 2 is Bungie’s post-Halo shooter. The gunplay, sound design, and pace all descend directly from Halo, translated to a looter-shooter and MMO frame. The core is free, and the shooting is still the best in the loot-shooter category.
Where it falls short: Content vaulting means expansions eventually disappear from the game. The monetization pressure is real.
Pricing:
- Base: Free-to-play core, expansions about 30 to 50 USD each.
- vs Halo Infinite: Bungie DNA, MMO structure, more mechanical depth.
Platforms: Windows.
Bottom line: The obvious “Halo but Bungie kept the keys” pick.
DOOM Eternal
DOOM Eternal is single-player Halo speed with more traversal. Push-forward combat that punishes hiding, movement that keeps escalating (double jump, dash, meat hook), and a weapon wheel that trades on Halo’s sandbox reflexes. If Halo Infinite’s campaign was your reason to boot the game, DOOM Eternal is the pick.
Where it falls short: Multiplayer (Battlemode) is dead. Learning curve is steep.
Pricing:
- Base: About 40 USD on Steam, drops to 10 USD on sale.
- vs Halo Infinite: Better single-player, no arena multiplayer.
Platforms: Windows.
Bottom line: The fastest, meanest shooter on PC.
Titanfall 2
Titanfall 2 has the best-reviewed campaign of any shooter this decade, and the multiplayer wall-running plus titan-drop core is the reason Apex Legends exists. Servers are populated again after the 2023 fix. The campaign is 6 to 8 hours, and every mission is a set piece.
Where it falls short: Population still spikes at weekends and thins mid-week. Titanfall 3 is not happening.
Pricing:
- Base: About 20 USD on Steam, often 4 USD on sale.
- vs Halo Infinite: Better campaign, faster movement, smaller sandbox.
Platforms: Windows.
Bottom line: Cheaper than the Halo Infinite anniversary bundle, plays like nothing else.
Apex Legends
Apex Legends is Respawn’s battle royale built on Titanfall 2’s engine and movement, with Halo-adjacent shooting and a hero mechanic. It is the closest thing to Halo’s sandbox in a battle-royale frame and free-to-play at the entry point.
Where it falls short: Battle-royale as a genre is not for everyone. Season progression is a treadmill.
Pricing:
- Base: Free.
- vs Halo Infinite: Battle royale, hero shooter, faster time-to-kill.
Platforms: Windows.
Bottom line: The one you play if the battle royale itch is real and the Halo pistol shape is what you actually want.
Splitgate 2
Splitgate 2 is Halo plus Portal, kept alive by a passionate PC community. Portal gun, arena maps, and a pistol that owes its recoil pattern to the Halo CE magnum. The 2024 sequel refined the movement and killed the split (pun intended) between “portal main” and “arena main” playstyles.
Where it falls short: Smaller player base than Halo Infinite. Ranked queue times can be long.
Pricing:
- Base: Free.
- vs Halo Infinite: Faster movement, portal utility, fewer game modes.
Platforms: Windows.
Bottom line: For people who used to fire up Halo 3 custom games and want that specific speed.
Battlebit Remastered
Battlebit Remastered is a 254-player arcade shooter with a low-poly look and Halo-style aim. It is not a Halo clone, but the “hop in a Warthog, drive off a cliff, fire an AK” fantasy Halo used to sell is alive and well here. Frequent updates, active dev communication.
Where it falls short: Server population outside NA/EU peak is thin. Anti-cheat is decent but not perfect.
Pricing:
- Base: About 15 USD on Steam.
- vs Halo Infinite: Bigger scale, fewer modes, no campaign.
Platforms: Windows.
Bottom line: Big Team Battle if Big Team Battle was 32v32 with vehicles that break.
How to choose
- Buy Halo: The Master Chief Collection if you have not, and you want more Halo campaigns than Infinite gave you.
- Play Destiny 2 if you want Bungie shooter feel without the Master Chief branding.
- Play DOOM Eternal if the campaign was the reason you played Halo at all.
- Play Titanfall 2 if you want the best campaign in the category plus the mechanic that made Apex.
- Play Apex Legends if battle royale is your speed and the Halo pistol shape is what you actually want.
- Play Splitgate 2 if Halo 3 custom games are your happy place.
- Play Battlebit Remastered if Big Team Battle is the only mode you actually cared about.
- Stay on Halo Infinite if Forge and the community-made maps are the reason you booted it in the first place. That scene is legitimately good.
FAQ
Is Halo Infinite still worth playing in 2026? Yes for campaign and Forge. Multiplayer works, but population is uneven; ranked queues in off hours can be slow.
Is Halo Infinite Steam Deck Verified? Playable, not Verified. Runs at low settings on Deck OLED; some anti-cheat friction on Deck’s kernel has been reported.
Is Halo: The Master Chief Collection better than Halo Infinite? For campaign and custom games, yes. For live multiplayer with modern matchmaking, Infinite has a slight edge in season content.
Is there a Halo battle royale? Not officially. Apex Legends is the closest in gameplay lineage because it runs on the Titanfall engine.
What is the closest thing to Halo 3 custom games on Steam? Splitgate 2 for portal-heavy arena games. Halo: The Master Chief Collection for actual Halo 3 custom games.
Is Halo 5 on PC? No. Halo 5: Guardians is Xbox-only. Halo: The Master Chief Collection covers everything up through Halo 4 and Reach.
