Is Halo esports making a comeback?

The Halo Champions Series Arlington 2025 tournament on April 18th saw strong viewership numbers throughout its livestreams.

The views accumulated in the tournament have been a much-needed boost for the Halo esports scene in an otherwise slower year.

The HCS Major began with an eight-hour-long livestream that accumulated over 100,000 views and would reach a peak of over 160,000 views on Championship Sunday. Throughout day one and two, each five to eight-hour-long livestream attracted between 20,000 to 50,000 viewers, and attracted a total view count of 506,000 on YouTube alone.

Optic Gaming came out on top this year in a historic win against Shopify Rebellion, winning the lion’s share of a $250,000 prize pool. Shopify Rebellion claimed second place, FaZe Clan came third and SpaceStation Gaming managed to place fourth. All four teams will qualify for the Dallas Open Pool Play at DreamHack later this year.

According to Esports Charts, Halo has been on a steady decline since its peak in 2022. The number of tournaments has sharply decreased, from 59 in 2022 to just six in 2024. Peak viewership has also declined since 2021, dropping from 260,000 to nearly 110,000 in 2024.

2025 alone has been rather slow up until HCS, with only one tournament being held beforehand — Kaysan Showdown VI. It saw a peak viewership of 45,000 and a prize pool of $50,000. HCS, by comparison, has proven to be much more popular and has consistently brought in views for the past three years as the most popular Halo esports event.

In a post on X, the official Halo Esports account said: “Thank you to the players, fans, and all of our partners for making the HCS Arlington 25 Kickoff Major an incredible start to the 2025 HCS Season! Next stop: HCS Dallas 2025 Open at DreamHack.”

This year’s HCS Arlington Major has proven to be a jumpstart the Halo esports 2025 scene has desperately needed in an otherwise slower year. Many anticipate the upcoming Dallas Open, running from May 23rd-25th, to capitalise on this renewed interest in the esport.