Best Halo games

Halo 3 wins 83% of its duels and tops the Halo ranking ahead of Halo 2, with Halo: Combat Evolved in third place.

The 137 ELO points separating Halo 3 from Halo 2 mark the widest gap in the ranking, a margin that underscores the community's preference for the trilogy's third installment. Halo: Combat Evolved follows in third position with 1311 points, while Halo: Reach sits just behind at 1298. The bottom tells a different story: spin-offs struggle to find their place among the core entries. Halo: Spartan Strike lands at the bottom with 976 ELO points, preceded by Halo Wars 2 at 1042 and Halo: Spartan Assault at 1065. These lower-ranked titles suggest players gravitate toward the mainline shooter experience over tactical detours and mobile adaptations.

This ranking gathers data from 945 duels across 34 players, covering 12 contenders from the Halo franchise. The figures reflect community votes as of 12 October 2026. Each duel asks players to pick their preferred game, and the resulting ELO scores reveal which titles hold up best under direct comparison. Head over to VAINKEURZ to cast your vote and shape the standings as the ranking evolves.

Updated on October 12, 2026

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.

How our rankings are made →