There's no secret about Halo: Campaign Evolved making its move to PlayStation in 2026. Friday, Xbox and Halo Studios announced that Halo would be making the shift to another console for the first time.
On October 25, 2025, GameStop took to social media to declare that the Console Wars had officially ended after the announcement:
"Whereas, for the past two decades, the global gaming community has been engaged in an ongoing and increasingly petty conflict known as The Console Wars. Said conflict originated in the early 2000s with the release of Halo: Combat Evolved as an Xbox-exclusive title. Halo: Campaign Evolved is officially coming on PlayStation in 2026 with cross-platform play.
GameStop, acting under its authority as a Neutral Entity and The World's Retail Gaming & Trade-in Destination, hereby declares the official cessation of the console wars. All claims to exclusivity are hereby dissolved. Console loyalists are instructed to cease hostilities, disband militias, and enjoy this new era of gaming. GameStop will continue to operate as a demilitarized zone, offering hardware, accessories, and trade-ins to combatants on all sides.
Power to the Players."
Following that post, the White House responded with its own conception, featuring the iconic Master Chief. Using AI, Chief's face was replaced with President Trump's, Chief for Chief.
Power to the Players https://t.co/GqNu0qdgmw pic.twitter.com/4Hw6G7i7aWOctober 27, 2025
Of course, GameStop replied on its own as well. Making use of the JD Vance meme in place of Cortana.
Over the weekend, the White House made use of another iconic Halo namesake, the Warthog. Depicted on none other than a Halo ring, the Warthog image was superimposed using the words, "Destroy the Flood, Join Ice."
Following this, Alyssa Mercante reached out to Microsoft, GameStop, and the White House for comment. According to her exclusive report, neither Microsoft nor GameStop responded at the time. The White House automatic email was the first she received.
"Due to staff shortages resulting from the Democrat Shutdown, the typical 24/7 monitoring of this press inbox may experience delays. We ask for your patience as our staff work to field your requests in a timely manner. As you await a response, please remember this could have been avoided if the Democrats voted for the clean Continuing Resolution to keep the government open. The press office also cannot accommodate waves [sic] requests or escorts at this time. Thank you for your attention to this matter."
While the initial email was not shown, Alyssa did remark that it included questions, such as what the thought process was when using Halo or whether there was a part of the game that the administration liked.
Still, the White House did eventually reach out to her, with the response, "Yet another war ended under President Trump's watch—only one leader is fully committed to giving power to the players, and that leader is Donald J. Trump. That's why he's hugely popular with the American people and American Gamers."
The use of Halo imagery, AI or not, by the White House has sparked some controversy on social media. Whether or not this is something that Microsoft approves of or plans to take action against is unknown. Will Microsoft respond in the wake of these images?
Microsoft and 36 others recently donated to the Ballroom project currently underway at the White House. The estimated price of which totals somewhere near $300 million.
Microsoft wasn't the only tech giant to have donated either, as the list includes the likes of Apple, Google, T-Mobile, HP, and even Amazon.
What do you think about the situation? Let us know below or on one of our social media pages. I'm always curious to read what people think!
FAQ
What actually happened?
After GameStop jokingly declared the “console wars” over, the White House jumped in with an AI‑generated image of Donald Trump as Halo’s Master Chief, captioned with the line “Only one leader is fully committed to giving power to the players."
Why is the White House talking about Halo?
Because apparently, in 2025, political comms teams think memes and video game icons are the way to reach voters. Policy? Too boring. Plasma rifles? Much more clickable
Was this official?
Yes. The post came from the White House’s official account, not a parody. Which makes it both more surreal and more depressing.
How did people react?
With a mix of laughter, cringe, and outrage. Some gamers found it absurdly funny, others saw it as another example of politics co‑opting pop culture. Critics also pointed out the sloppy AI art — including a U.S. flag with the wrong number of stars.
Did Microsoft or 343 Industries respond?
Not directly. Microsoft has stayed quiet, likely preferring not to wade into the swamp of politics + Halo memes.
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