Halo Studios Switches to Unreal Engine 5 to Make “The Best Possible” Halo Titles

Microsoft has confirmed multiple new Halo games are in reserve, along with the announcement of the rebranding of 343 Industries—the studio managing the military sci-fi franchise—to “Halo Studios.”

Xbox Game Studio's 343 Industries Rebrands to Halo Studios
Halo Studios Expands Plans of Building Halo Games Players Want

343 Industries, the Microsoft-owned studio that took over the venerable Halo franchise in place of series creator Bungie, confirmed that multiple Halo game projects are in the active pipeline. Along with this announcement made today, 343 Industries rejuvenated its identity and will now be known as Halo Studios.

"If you really dissect Halo down, there have been two very distinct chapters. Chapter 1 – Bungie. Chapter 2 – 343 Industries. Now, I think we have an audience which is eager for more," Studio Head Pierre Hintze said in an announcement post. "So we’re not just going to try [to] improve the efficacy of development, but change the formula of how we make Halo games. So, we start a new chapter today."

The studio also announced that it will be developing new, upcoming Halo entries using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5 (UE5). The UE5 has been lauded for producing top tier game titles that feature crisp graphics and realistic game physics. "The first Halo revolutionized console gaming in 2001, and over the generations Halo has pushed the state of the art forward with amazing gameplay, story, and music," Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said in a tweet. "Epic is honored that the Halo Studios team has chosen our tools to help with their future work!"

In line with the announcement today, Halo's lead developers discussed the military sci-fi franchise's new direction. "We had a disproportionate focus on trying to create the conditions to be successful in servicing Halo Infinite," Hintze shared regarding their experience carrying the Halo torch, additionally saying that the switch to UE5 will allow them to make more Halo games with the highest level of quality possible. "We want a singular focus, Hintze said. "Everyone is in this place is here to make the best possible Halo games."

Halo franchise COO Elizabeth Van Wyck added: "At the end of the day, if we build the games that our players want to play, that’s how we’ll be successful. That’s what should motivate what we build. That’s also what this structure has done – we want the people that are day-in-day-out making the games to be the ones to make the decisions on the games." Van Wyck also said they are seeking "wider and wider feedback" from its player base as they endeavor on the new direction of the franchise. "At the end of the day, it’s not just how do we evaluate, it’s how do our players evaluate it?"

As players' demands for their gaming experiences continue to change, Studio Art Director Chris Matthew added that the move to UE5 enables the developers to make the games that match the expectations of fans. "Respectfully, some components of Slipspace are almost 25 years old," he explained. "Although 343 were developing it continuously, there are aspects of Unreal that Epic has been developing for some time, which are unavailable to us in Slipspace – and would have taken huge amounts of time and resources to try and replicate."

Moving Halo on UE5 also allows the game series to continually grow with new updates at a relatively shorter time. "It’s not just about how long it takes to bring a game to market, but how long it takes for us to update the game, bring new content to players, adapt to what we’re seeing our players want," Van Wyck said. With Halo Studios' plans set in motion, the studio likewise announced that it has started hiring for the new projects.