“It was best-in-class. That’s what Halo was…that’s what Halo needs to be again.” 343 Industries rebrands, confirms franchise is moving to Unreal Engine 5.
One of Xbox’s developers is rebranding, while taking steps to bring Halo into a new era of Unreal Engine 5.
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What you need to know
There’s a big shift coming for Master Chief and company.
During the Halo World Championship 2024, 343 Industries studio head Pierre Hintze shared some big news for the team, revealing that343 Industriesis rebranding. The team is now being referred to as Halo Studios, with company ramping up hiring for multipleHaloprojects.
Additionally, the Halo franchise is officially moving to Unreal Engine 5, confirming a changefirst reported over a year ago. You can take a look at the studio’s update video below, which shows off Project Foundry, an internal tech demo designed to test bringing Halo to Unreal Engine 5:
“The original Halo franchise was a graphics showcase. It was best-in-class. That’s what Halo was when it first was released, and that’s what Halo needs to be again,” explains lead artist Daniel Henley.
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As part of this work, the team at now-Halo Studios is looking to hire across multiple disciplines for multiple Halo games. Work is still early in many respects, and the studio’s most recent game,Halo Infinite, will still getting updates and new Operations for the foreseeable future.
“You asked why we consider this as a new chapter,” says Hintze, speaking an interview withXbox Wire. “We want a singular focus. Everyone is in this place is here to make the best possible Halo games.”
Also speaking to Xbox Wire, art director Chris Matthews notes that portions of the Slipspace engine were decades old. As a result, there are aspects of Unreal Engine 5 that are easily accessible that would’ve been extremely difficult to recreate using Slipspace.
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“Halo is such an incredible franchise and it’s awesome to see Halo Studios already pushing the boundaries of Unreal Engine 5,” said Bill Clifford, vice president and general manager of Unreal Engine at Epic Games. “We’re honored to support the Halo team in realizing their creative visions through Unreal Engine. Project Foundry’s work demonstrates how they can bring Halo to life with beautifully detailed, uncompromised worlds.”
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Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter@SamuelTolbert.
