HALO is one of the most iconic series for Xbox and a main reason for many to get into Microsoft’s consoles.
The last time we saw a new game in the series was in 2021 with Halo Infinite, and fans have been curious to know what the future holds for the franchise.
Halo’s developer 343 Industries revealed on Sunday a couple of big changes for the company and the celebrated video game series.
The studio shared insights into the future of Halo in a seven-minute video titled ‘A New Dawn’, which aired before the final match of the Halo World Championship 2024.
First off, 343 Industries is officially changing its name to Halo Studios to reflect the company’s longtime focus on the series and its future as the developer of Halo.
The newly-rebranded studio also revealed that it’s working on “multiple new games”.
During the video, Halo Studios showed tech demo footage of what the series’ next entries’ could look like and the clips are stunning.
Several biomes as well as Master Chief himself were featured in the video.
The new amazing visuals shown off in the reveal have been created with Unreal Engine 5, marking a switch from the studio’s proprietary Slipspace Engine used in previous Halo games.
Game engines are what developers use to make their games, and Unreal Engine 5 is the latest version of one of the most popular engines, created by Fortnite’s developer Epic Games.
Switching to a new engine allows developers to be more efficient in creating their games, but it also unlocks new features that weren’t possible before.
Studio Head Pierre Hintze explained the change as “a turning of a page”, a new chapter for the Halo series.
“We’re not just going to try improve the efficiency of development, but change the recipe of how we make Halo games”, Hintze said.
No specific details about the upcoming projects were revealed, but the studio promised not more than just visual improvements.
Moving to Unreal Engine 5 will allow the studio to “put all the focus on making multiple new experiences at the highest quality possible,” he added.
Halo Studios’ decision to move away from its in-house engine follows reports about issues with Slipspace.
The announcements also put to rest rumours that Microsoft was planing to put another studio in charge of the series.
The Slipspace engine has long been deemed very hard to develop on, so the switch is great news for Halo fans.
It means the studio can focus more on crafting its games and adding new content to them, rather than developing and upgrading the tools required to do so.
The move to an industry-standard engine also means, Halo Studios will be able to tap into a larger pool of developers.
In its announcement, the studio confirmed that it’s already hiring new staff for its upcoming projects.
If you want to read more Xbox news, check out two free movies you can grab as an Xbox Game Pass subscriber.
Get the lowdown on more of the latest Xbox releases from our expert reviewers.
For PS5 and Nintendo Switch, check out our full game reviews section.
