Summary
Several major changes are coming to theHalofranchise, and the newly renamed Halo Studios has just explained why it is switching over to Unreal Engine 5 for future projects. Earlier this week, the former 343 Industries announced a massive rebranding and overhaul of its internal culture, workflow, and internal organization during the Halo World Championship tournament. In addition to the new name of Halo Studios, it was confirmed that multipleHaloprojects are in development, and they will be built using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5.
This marks a striking departure fromHalo Infinite, which was developed using 343 Industries' proprietary Slipspace Engine.Halo Infiniteitself suffered from a lengthy and troubled development cycle that saw it delayed multiple times before finally launching in the winter of 2021. When it finally hit PC and Xbox Series X/S,Halo Infinitegarnered a mixed reaction, being praised for its open-world single-player content while generating controversy over online multiplayer issues, beloved features like Forge Mode being missing at launch, and live-service microtransaction elements that many accused of putting profits above delivering a worthwhile gaming experience.
Now change is on the horizon, and several Halo Studios developers have provided explanations forHalo’s recently announced move to Unreal Engine 5. In an interview withXbox Wire, COO Elizabeth van Wyck stated that the way that Halo Studios hasmadeHalogames in the past“doesn’t necessarily work as well for the way we want to make games for the future,” and that part of its new approach is centering its focus on making the games themselves rather than maintaining proprietary tools and engines.
Future Halo Games Will Use Unreal Engine 5
Slipspace Engine is one such tool, but Halo Studios personnel like Studio Art Director Chris Matthews found that using it to createHalo Infiniteslowed the process down considerably. “Respectfully, some components of Slipspace are almost 25 years old,” Matthews notes, saying that there are elements toEpic’s Unreal Engine 5that were unavailable in 343’s in-house engine that would have taken up too much time and resources to try and replicate, such as Unreal’s Nanite and Lumen technologies (used for rendering and lighting, respectively).
Unreal Engine’s ever-growing popularity within the larger gaming industry was another deciding factor in Halo Studios using the new Unreal Engine 5 for its futureHalogames. As van Wyck says, a lot of new team members are already familiar with Unreal, meaning that workers can jump straight into the project at hand rather than spend time learning how to use a new engine.The renamed Halo Studioshopes that this will lead to much smoother development cycles for newHaloprojects, but only time will tell how these changes will impact future games.
Halo Infinite
WHERE TO PLAY
When all hope is lost and humanity’s fate hangs in the balance, the Master Chief is ready to confront the most ruthless foe he’s ever faced. Step inside the armor of humanity’s greatest hero to experience an epic open-world adventure and explore the massive scale of the Halo ring.With Network Campaign Co-Op and Mission Replay, you may relive your favorite moments, rediscover collectibles and explore the wonders of Zeta Halo on your own or with up to three other fireteam members.Experience Halo’s celebrated multiplayer reimagined and free-to-play! With over 70 maps in matchmaking, billions of customization configurations, and countless community Forge creations to experience, Halo Infinite is the franchise’s most expansive multiplayer offering to date.Enjoy an unprecedented variety of gameplay experiences, ranging from fast-paced intense ranked modes to whimsical mayhem in Custom Games, or even co-operative coordination in the wave-based survival mode Firefight: King of the Hill. Assemble your Fireteam and conquer every mode – Halo offers endless opportunities for teamwork, strategy, and unforgettable victories.
