# Halo: Combat Evolved — Halo decompilation

Canonical: https://playable.wtf/games/halo-ce-decompilation/

Project ID: project:halo-ce-decompilation

Reconstruct Halo CE build 2342 from the matching PAL debug executable.

## About this version

punpckhdq’s source project targets Halo: Combat Evolved build 2342, cachebeta.exe. Its build instructions require that specific PAL debug build and the August 2001 Xbox SDK; it is separate from ready-to-launch Halo browser hosts.

Source / build. Shooter.

[Build instructions](https://github.com/punpckhdq/halo)

## Halo: Combat Evolved

Choose Hynes for a desktop browser and private invites, HCEMobile for touch controls, or OpenCE for native installation with your own Xbox disc image.

- [Read Halo: Combat Evolved guide](https://playable.wtf/guides/halo-ce-browser-versions/)
- [Browser with a mouse](https://playable.wtf/games/halo-combat-evolved/): Direct XISO import, desktop bindings and private map-and-mode invite rooms.
- [Phone controls](https://playable.wtf/games/halo-ce-mobile/): Editable touch layouts, home-screen installation and per-copy save export.
- [Native desktop play](https://playable.wtf/games/opencommunityedition-opence/): Windows and Linux releases with disc import and documented local split-screen campaign.

[Browse all version comparisons](https://playable.wtf/families/)

## Reconstructing one early Halo executable

punpckhdq’s Halo project reconstructs Combat Evolved build 2342, identified by the executable cachebeta.exe. The goal is a matching decompilation of that target, not a modern browser frontend or a general installer for retail Halo discs. This distinction is the main thing to understand before choosing it from several similarly named Halo projects.

The work draws on debug symbols from later Halo games to help identify structures, types and function signatures. The README warns that the Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary beta is based on Halo PC and differs from the original Xbox title. Useful research material is therefore not automatically an exact description of the older executable.

Sources: [Halo decompilation · project documentation](https://github.com/punpckhdq/halo)

## A developer build with exact prerequisites

The documented workflow requires the PAL debug build, the August 2001 Xbox SDK and Ninja. The target executable belongs in the repository root, while the SDK’s xbox directory supplies the bin and include paths. configure.py prepares the build; Ninja compiles it and reports progress, with a Visual Studio 2022 project offered as another development route on Windows.

Those requirements are specific development inputs obtained with appropriate authorization. They are not interchangeable with the retail files accepted by unrelated Halo ports. The project is useful for following source reconstruction, but its build statistics do not establish a ready campaign, supported controller setup or online service.

Sources: [Halo decompilation · project documentation](https://github.com/punpckhdq/halo)

## Do I need the original game files?

The project targets Halo CE build 2342 (cachebeta.exe) and requires the Halo 1 PAL debug build plus the August 2001 Xbox SDK, obtained with appropriate authorization.

Creator-reported: [Project guide](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/punpckhdq/halo/HEAD/README.md)

## How do I get started?

The documented source workflow places cachebeta.exe in the repository root and the SDK files under xbox/, then uses configure.py and Ninja. This is a developer build process.

Creator-reported: [Project guide](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/punpckhdq/halo/HEAD/README.md)

## What is included in this version?

A work-in-progress decompilation of build 2342. A retail disc image for a different Halo port does not substitute for this project’s target executable.

Creator-reported: [Project guide](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/punpckhdq/halo/HEAD/README.md)

## Credits and project

- [Original project](https://github.com/punpckhdq/halo)