The Halo series became known for its multiplayer when Halo: Combat Evolved was released in 2001. The last-minute addition of multiplayer elevated the game to mainstream popularity as LAN parties and split-screen Slayer nights became the definitive way to interact with the game. People were buying an Xbox just so they could play Halo.

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It has been twenty years since the release of the first title and the evolution of online multiplayer and faster internet speeds have redefined the games’ multiplayer modes. Matchmaking, custom games, esports — it’s sometimes difficult to look back and remember how much the original titles succeeded in their simplicity.

There have been eight mainline titles with a variety of different versions of multiplayer and options. Some are much better than others, and Halo Infinite's take on multiplayer is the latest in this long-running series. Read on if you want to see how each Halo game ranks based on their multiplayer options.

Updated April 17, 2023 by Amanda Hurych: Halo Infinite has been out long enough for us to consider its ranking with greater context. It's the latest entry in the Halo series, and its multiplayer offerings differ from the titles that have preceded it. Read on to see where it, and the other Halo games, rank in terms of the best multiplayer component.

8 Halo 4

Halo 4's multiplayer was a departure from what fans saw in Bungie's suite of Halo games. Loadouts, weapon drops, the continued prevalence of sprint. It’s still called Halo, and some of the familiar pieces are there, but they’re rearranged into something so dissimilar to its predecessors that it feels like an imitation.

Spartan Ops was one of the game’s flagship features. It was an episodic co-op mode that focused on story-centric missions for four players. It was a nice addition, but ultimately only reached ten episodes. It’s hard to say that Spartan Ops was worth it when compared to the more popular Firefight mode seen in other Halo games.

7 Halo 3: ODST

Pound for pound, ODST is a lightweight on this list. It lacks any traditional multiplayer modes like Slayer, Capture the Flag, or anything else directly competitive. It was instead the first title to offer Firefight, a horde mode where groups of one to four players battle against waves of the Covenant with a variety of skull configurations.

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ODST swings hard thanks to how solid the idea and implementation of Firefight is. It’s so easy to group with friends and casually blow through lower difficulties or grind out Heroic or Legendary, pushing for higher scores and finally seeing the whole game through. It’s a shame that Firefight was only brought back for one other title in the series.

6 Halo 5: Guardians

Halo 5 continues the departure from the core of the series that began with Reach and Halo 4. This one has so many additions to gameplay and movement: aiming down sights, thrusters, ground pound, slide, infinite sprint, Spartan charge. It’s a lot. Some of these are pretty bad. For example, clambering restricts your ability to shoot while moving around the map. In previous Halo games, you could jump and turn and shoot all at the same time, without being restricted to an animation.

While these features aren’t for everyone, especially diehard fans of the original trilogy, Halo 5’s multiplayer is a much-improved rendition of the direction 343 Industries began to take the series in. For those fans, it’s stellar. It earns solid props for that.

5 Halo: Infinite

Halo Infinite is a tough one to rank. When the multiplayer component first came out as a beta, it was heralded as a fantastic return to form. Matches felt great, and they still do. The click every time you eliminate an opponent is satisfying as heck. The maps are expertly designed. But unfortunately, Infinite's luster waned greatly post-launch. The lack of meaningful updates to multiplayer, the absence of a Firefight mode, and the delay in establishing a Forge community hindered Infinite's growth. And the seasonal model the customization relies on has come under criticism.

That's not to say Halo Infinite still does not possess an undeniable spark, and playing a match is still engrossing. Halo hasn't felt this good in years. But incentives to return have been lacking, and the demand for more content has been met to a minimal extent.

4 Halo: Reach

Reach was the first game to implement some of Halo’s most controversial features like weapon bloom, armor abilities, and the contested sprint. Regardless of your feelings on these features, one thing that can’t be argued is how much they do change the gameplay and how radical their inclusion is compared to the consistent base of the first three titles.

While Reach’s multiplayer subsequently saw changes to better balance some of these additions, it succeeded on the sheer breadth of its options. This is the most customizable and feature-rich of any Halo game. Whether you’re messing around with custom game settings, Invasion, Forge, or Firefight, the options are almost endless.

3 Halo 3

Halo 3 not only did what Halo 2 did and brought in new guns, vehicles, equipment, and so on, it also completed features that didn’t make it to Halo 2. Bungie dreamt big and couldn’t get everything into the second title, but Halo 3 released with Forge and Theater. You can customize maps, play Slayer on them, and go back and watch the replays with your friends.

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Halo 3 is by far the most feature-rich of the original trilogy. It maintains the classic gameplay with no additions like bloom or sprint. Even with equipment, it’s remarkably pure. This is Halo perfection. Pristine, nigh unblemished, and a frontrunner for the ideal sequel. There’s a reason people were clamoring to get it on PC since its release, and the Master Chief Collection finally brought its brilliance there.

2 Halo: Combat Evolved

The classic. The game and the multiplayer that solidified the Xbox brand and single-handedly carried the original console to success. Combat Evolved's multiplayer was a late addition to the game, and it almost shipped without it. Instead, the world got to know Halo’s weapon toolbox and the power of the pistol.

Today, Halo: Combat Evolved's sandbox seems a little barebones by modern standards, but playing it again reveals how strong the basic foundation was. The next titles in the trilogy iterated on its success and, piece by piece, made Halo a household name.

1 Halo 2

Halo 2 is legendary. It was one of the most anticipated sequels of its time, and a large portion of that excitement was due to its multiplayer additions. Halo 2 both revolutionized and defined online console play. The infrastructure that Bungie created for Halo 2 went on to become the standard for Xbox Live and the earliest Xbox 360 Dashboards.

A robust matchmaking service took care of finding games for you around your skill level. The playlist system meant you could easily hop into a game type that you wanted. The sandbox was expanded with a ton of new weapons and vehicles available. The energy sword, more Covenant vehicles, dual wielding, the Gauss Warthog, the list goes on. It’s a landmark title. No wonder people are still playing it almost two decades later.

Next: Halo Infinite: Every Power Weapon In The Game, Ranked