Halo Wars 2

After decades adrift and declared “lost with all hands,” the brave crew of the UNSC Spirit of Fire are mysteriously awoken above an ancient Forerunner haven known as the Ark. In Halo Wars 2, Captain Cutter and…

77 21 February 2017

Real Time Strategy (RTS) Strategy Science fiction

Halo Wars 2 is a real time strategy (rts) developed by 343 Industries, released 21 February 2017 on Xbox One and PC (Microsoft Windows).

Verified 21 Aug 2026 Sources: IGDB , Wikipedia

What Halo Wars 2 is

Halo Wars 2 is a real time strategy (rts) game developed by 343 Industries and released in 2017. It was published by Microsoft Studios. It is available on Xbox One and PC (Microsoft Windows).

The premise, in the publisher's words

Set in 2559, decades after the crew of the human warship Spirit of Fire vanished into uncharted space, the ship and its cryo-sleeping crew awaken at the Ark, a colossal Forerunner installation capable of building the galaxy-threatening Halo rings. There they find a ruthless new enemy already entrenched: the Banished, a savage mercenary faction led by the cunning Brute warlord Atriox that rose from the ashes of the collapsed Covenant. Under Captain Cutter's command, the outnumbered and outdated UNSC forces must marshal their soldiers, Spartans, and war machines to wrest control of the Ark from the Banished and stop Atriox before he seizes its terrible power.

Description from the publisher · source

How it plays

It is played from a bird view / isometric perspective. Its themes are science fiction. It supports multiplayer for up to 6 players online. Available modes: Co-operative, Multiplayer, Single player and Split screen.

Where it sits in the Halo series

Halo Wars 2 is the 43rd of 55 entries we hold in the Halo series. The next entry was Halo Wars 2: Ultimate Edition in 2017. Its critic score of 77 is 4 points below the series average of 81. The highest-rated entry is Halo 3 at 91.

See all 55 Halo games in release order →

How it was received

Halo Wars 2 holds a critic score of 77 out of 100. That places it above 57% of the 612 rated real time strategy (rts) games in our database, which average 72. Games released in 2017 averaged 71, so it scored 6 points above the year average. Player ratings track closely with critics at 76, across 75 votes.

What it launched against

Halo Wars 2 launched on 21 February 2017, within three weeks of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Horizon Zero Dawn, NieR: Automata and Hollow Knight. All of them reviewed better. It arrived 4 years into the Xbox One's life, so it was built for hardware developers already knew well.

Released around the same time: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Horizon Zero Dawn, NieR: Automata, Hollow Knight.

Cheats and codes

We have not confirmed any working cheat codes for Halo Wars 2 yet. Rather than reprint a list we have not tested, this section stays empty until one is verified.

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