The future of Halo is starting to come into focus. During Sunday’s Halo World Championships, 343 Industries made a number of announcements, including officially changing its name to Halo Studios and working on multiple new games. Additionally, the newly rebranded studio has stated that all future projects will be developed in Unreal Engine, leaving behind the Slipspace Engine utilized in Halo Infinite.
The announcement was revealed in a seven-minute video shown ahead of the Halo World Championship Grand Finals. This video showcased the results of Project Foundry, an experimental project aimed at showcasing Halo games built using Unreal Engine. It’s just a tech demo, but it’s a glimpse into a new beginning for Xbox’s flagship series in the wake of 2021’s Halo Infinite.
This is a big change for the Halo series, especially because of the resources poured into the Slipspace Engine during its development. The studio, formerly known as 343 Industries, famously struggled with the Slipspace engine during the development of Halo Infinite, in part using tools dating back to the early 2000s. Still, it was expected to serve as the basis for the series beyond Halo Infinite.
“With all due respect, some components of Slipspace are almost 25 years old,” said art director Chris Matthews in an interview with Xbox Wire. “343 was in continuous development, but there are aspects of Unreal that Epic has been developing for a while that aren’t available in Slipspace and would require a huge amount of time and resources to try to replicate.”
Reports in early 2023 suggested that Halo developers were ready to hit the reset button on the series after major changes within the studio, including a move to Unreal Engine. The report also states that Halo developers are focused on proposing new Halo games while prototyping ideas. Project Foundry appears to be the culmination of that effort.
Meanwhile, the newly rebranded Halo studio is looking to move forward under the leadership of Pierre Hintze, Elisabeth Van Wyk, and Brian Koski, and is currently working on multiple new games. The three take on the studio’s top roles following the departure of studio GM Bonnie Ross in 2022 and series veteran Joseph Staten’s departure from Xbox in 2023. The new name and engine followed Xbox saying earlier this year that it was “full speed ahead.” The next generation successor to Xbox Series X|S.
“We had a disproportionate focus on creating the conditions for a successful Halo Infinite service, but[by switching to Unreal]we were able to deliver multiple new experiences at the highest quality possible. You can focus all your energy on creating,” says Hintze.
Halo Studios says the project will be “ready when it’s ready.” For now, stay tuned to IGN and Podcast Unlocked for more analysis.
Kat Bailey is IGN’s news director and co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Any tips? Send a DM to @the_katbot.