# Halo: Combat Evolved — decompiling Xbox build 2342

> This is a work-in-progress decompilation of Halo: Combat Evolved build 2342. The executable is cachebeta.exe, SHA-256 4cc87b45f721270392a96f1674ed2b5cd4a7bb4355faeab4531d1cf1884d9520, from the PAL debug build. The August 2001 Xbox SDK supplies xbox/bin and xbox/include. configure.py prepares the build. ninja build compiles it and prints progress. On Windows, projects/cachebeta.sln opens in Visual Studio 2022. The README says later Halo debug symbols are used to map types, and that the CEA beta is not identical to the Xbox game.

- Type: Case study
- Targets: Game
- Category: Independent reconstruction cases
- Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
- Sources reviewed: 2026-11-07
- Added to the catalog: 2026-11-09
- Original resource: <https://github.com/punpckhdq/halo>
- Primary source: <https://github.com/punpckhdq/halo/blob/c2d6835630276c9596d466eb9eeee6522445d775/README.md>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/halo-combat-evolved-decomp/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/halo-combat-evolved-decomp/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/halo-combat-evolved-decomp/index.md)

## Requirements & limits

- cachebeta.exe from the PAL debug build named above, the August 2001 Xbox SDK, and Ninja.
- The README names no license.

## Primary sources

1. <https://github.com/punpckhdq/halo/blob/c2d6835630276c9596d466eb9eeee6522445d775/README.md>

## More in Games

- [Halo: Combat Evolved: an incremental re-implementation patched into the original Xbox executable](https://awesomerea.org/resources/halo-ce-xbox-reimplementation-case/index.md) · Case study
- [Haunted House: a commented Atari 2600 disassembly](https://awesomerea.org/resources/haunted-house-disassembly-case/index.md) · Case study
- [hey_you_pikachu: partial N64 ROM decompilation](https://awesomerea.org/resources/hey-you-pikachu-decomp-case/index.md) · Case study
- [Hollywood Poker: a SkoolKit disassembly of the ZX Spectrum game](https://awesomerea.org/resources/hollywood-poker-disassembly-case/index.md) · Case study
- [Hot Wheels: Velocity X — a partial GameCube decompilation](https://awesomerea.org/resources/hot-wheels-velocity-x-gcn-case/index.md) · Case study
- [How to Be a Complete Bastard: a SkoolKit disassembly](https://awesomerea.org/resources/how-to-be-a-complete-bastard-case/index.md) · Case study

## About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources.
Original editorial content: MIT. Linked projects, papers and assets retain their own rights and licenses.