The 2024 Halo World Championship brought a game-changing announcement for the future of the Halo franchise. 343 Industries, the studio responsible for Halo since 2011, has officially rebranded as Halo Studios.

This marks a new era for the series, as the team also announced a major shift in game development. Halo’s future titles will no longer use the proprietary Slipspace Engine but will instead be built using Unreal Engine 5, opening the door for multiple new projects.

The decision to adopt Unreal Engine 5 was driven by the evolving nature of game development and fan expectations. As Studio Head Pierre Hintze explained, rebranding isn’t merely cosmetic. Still, it represents the third major chapter in Halo’s history: first under Bungie, then 343 Industries, and now under Halo Studios.

This shift comes as a response to the need for faster development cycles, more efficient workflows, and an easier onboarding process for new developers, many of whom are already familiar with Unreal Engine 5.

We believe that the consumption habits of gamers have changed – the expectations of how fast their content is available. On Halo Infinite, we were developing a tech stack that was supposed to set us up for the future, and games at the same time.

Pierre Hintze

COO Elizabeth van Wyck further emphasized the benefits of this change, explaining that the team wanted to focus more on game creation rather than the laborious process of maintaining a custom engine.

By using a widely adopted platform like Unreal, Halo Studios hopes to streamline the development process, reducing delays and enabling more frequent content releases. The switch also aids in recruitment, as new hires can hit the ground running with a familiar toolset.

The studio’s vision for the future of Halo is already taking shape with Project Foundry, a development initiative to explore how Halo can thrive in Unreal Engine 5.

This is not just a tech demo, but a research project that sets the groundwork for future Halo games, to ensure that these new titles feel authentic to the Halo universe while benefiting from the advanced technology of Unreal Engine’s rendering and lighting systems, such as Nanite and Lumen.

While no new games were officially announced during the event, Halo Infinite, and its Slipspace Engine will still receive support. However, the rebranding and new development approach signal a fresh start for the franchise, aiming to recapture the excitement of Halo’s early years and offer new gaming experiences on a more consistent basis.

This transformation is being met with a mix of excitement and caution from the community. While some fans are optimistic about the potential for more frequent and polished releases, others worry about the risks of Unreal Engine 5 leading to performance issues, particularly in multiplayer.

Also read: Krafton and Pocketpair Have Partnered to Bring Palworld to Mobile