Halo Studios Adopts Unreal Engine 5 for Superior Halo Games

Microsoft has officially announced the development of multiple new Halo games, accompanied by the exciting news of the rebranding of 343 Industries—the studio behind the iconic military sci-fi franchise—to “Halo Studios.”

Xbox Game Studio's 343 Industries Rebrands to Halo Studios

343 Industries, the Microsoft-owned studio that succeeded series creator Bungie in managing the Halo franchise, has confirmed that several new Halo game projects are currently in development. This announcement coincides with the studio's rebranding from 343 Industries to Halo Studios.

"If you really break 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 hungry for more," Studio Head Pierre Hintze stated in the announcement post. "So we’re not just going to try to improve the efficiency of development, but change the recipe of how we make Halo games. So, we start a new chapter today."

The studio has also revealed that future Halo titles will be developed using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5 (UE5). UE5 is renowned for its ability to produce high-quality games with stunning graphics and realistic physics. "The first Halo redefined 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 via Twitter. "Epic is honored that the Halo Studios team has chosen our tools to help with their future work!"

In conjunction with today's announcement, Halo's lead developers elaborated on the new direction for the military sci-fi franchise. "We had a disproportionate focus on trying to create the conditions to be successful in servicing Halo Infinite," Hintze explained, reflecting on their experience. He added that transitioning to UE5 will enable them to create more Halo games of the highest quality possible. "We want a singular focus," Hintze emphasized. "Everyone in this place is here to make the best possible Halo games."

Halo franchise COO Elizabeth Van Wyck further stated, "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 mentioned their commitment to seeking broader feedback from the player base as they embark on this new direction. "At the end of the day, it’s not just how do we evaluate, it’s how do our players evaluate it?"

As player expectations for gaming experiences evolve, Studio Art Director Chris Matthew noted that the shift to UE5 empowers developers to meet the high standards 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."

Transitioning Halo to UE5 also facilitates more frequent updates and new content for the game series. "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 remarked. With Halo Studios' plans now underway, the studio has begun recruiting for these new projects.