343 rebranded to Halo Studios, switching to Unreal Engine 5 for future Halo games of which "multiple" are in development

[eastside49er]

My guess they are rebooting the entire franchise, which is needed and they are probably aiming for a launch with the new system in 2025 or 2026. Either way, this is exciting.

[Staffy]

https://x.com/Septic_Sauce/status/1843089803476386208

Not gonna overhype myself too much, because the very first (engine) trailer for HI looked amazing too, but yes, the vibe is fantastic here.

[Failwood]

Happy to hear about the multiple projects, the news that they are switching to Unreal does nothing for me though.

[crazillo]

I’ll wait and see. They have tried rebranding Halo before, Infinite was supposed to be a new start with the engine that they built. But I can understand that they will have more resources for developing the game now and have to worry less about the engine functionality. Halo also has a very distinct physics system and it will be interesting to see how it transitions into the new engine.

That new logo is ugly though, thankfully we play games not logos.

[PowerDrift]

@Staffy

UE is true after all, quite interesting!

We know per Digital Foundry (and own experiences now) that UE5 is quite taxing on the current hardware we got for consoles. So hopefully whatever the next Xbox will be will be able to handle it beautifully. Come on, let’s knock it out of the park. If one franchise deserves it, shit, it’s Halo.

Yes, sadly it sounds like the next Halo game will be a launch title for the new Xbox.

I was hoping to see what the team could do with a Halo that was designed only for the current gen of Series consoles

[Boosted_Gear]

I totally understand the rebranding. They want to begin a new chapter. Also the new name makes it perfectly clear what they are working on, including for whoever will be applying.

[Haven]

What’s shown looks good and promising however the switch to UE 5 just seems sad even though it’s understanding why. I just hate the idea of this engine becoming the Defacto engine in the industry. I really wish other engines like Cry Engine and id Tech would compete.

[Staffy]

@PowerDrift

Yes, sadly it sounds like the next Halo game will be a launch title for the new Xbox.

I was hoping to see what the team could do with a Halo that was designed only for the current gen of Series consoles

If the launch of next Xbox console were to be late 2026 then that’s not so bad. It would be so freaking good if it launches with a new Halo. 2028 for next Xbox is of course possible as well. I do get you about the Series part though.

[Djbirdman26]

I wonder with this change and now so many of their studios using unreal if the next console design isn’t made to utilize unreal to the best of its abilities.

But as far as the game of halo will be interesting to see how they go about it. So many different routes you could go with it. Horror ODST type games. Even big PVE games with new Spartans with gear pieces that do different things creating a destiny or first decendent or outriders type game. On top of the continued story campaigns and arena pvp.

Some good potential but it’s still potential to they release things for it. Hopefully with our being unreal it helps with the contractor situation.

[Staffy]

@Djbirdman26

I wonder with this change and now so many of their studios using unreal if the next console design isn’t made to utilize unreal to the best of its abilities.

But as far as the game of halo will be interesting to see how they go about it. So many different routes you could go with it. Horror ODST type games. Even big PVE games with new Spartans with gear pieces that do different things creating a destiny or first decendent or outriders type game. On top of the continued story campaigns and arena pvp.

Some good potential but it’s still potential to they release things for it. Hopefully with our being unreal it helps with the contractor situation.

It should be interesting to see how it all pans out, because big open world games aren’t exactly super ideal with this engine. However, that was said a while ago and since then several open world games have been announced using UE5 such as Witcher 4 and the remake of the first one if I’m not mistaken.

[Kals_Els]

@Staffy

It should be interesting to see how it all pans out, because big open world games aren’t exactly super ideal with this engine. However, that was said a while ago and since then several open world games have been announced using UE5 such as Witcher 4 and the remake of the first one if I’m not mistaken.

I don’t think that multiple UE5 games being announced doesn’t mean the engines weakness will not be present.

I think at most it means that each studio will modify the engine to work better for them.

[Staffy]

@Kals_Els

I don’t think that multiple UE5 games being announced doesn’t mean the engine ms weakness will not be present.

I think at most it means that each studio will modify the engine to work better for them.

Yeah, I was wondering, did new people join the team and that they might have knowledge of UE5? Because I can imagine that is probably one of the plusses of going with UE5, a lot of people in the industry know the engine and could join. Right? I’m guessing that goes for CDPR as well. And perhaps the several updates to the engine ever since its launch help too.

[Kals_Els]

@Staffy

Yeah, I was wondering, did new people join the team and that they might have knowledge of UE5? Because I can imagine that is probably one of the plusses of going with UE5, a lot of people in the industry know the engine and could join. Right? I’m guessing that goes for CDPR as well.

I don’t about anyone that joined Halo Studios, but often the talk about the development issues seemed to bring up UE being as being something the contractors had more experience with.

Halo Studios should also have the tech team that The Coalition made to help when needed and Ninja Theory as well.

[Sparda3g]

I think it’s smart for them to work on the engine for about two years to see what it can do before they can say it is officially using it. Many developers in the past or perhaps even today are forced to use the engine and make a game out of it with no stoppage. This sounds like they got the hang of it and decided to go full speed ahead. Plus, their leader is very much capable to understand what needs to be done instead of what should remain to be held despite the change of today’s gaming.

[Kals_Els]

@Sparda3g

their leader is very much capable to understand what needs to be done

Yup, launch on all platforms(Xbox, PC, PS, Switch) as a free to play game, as Xbox and PC halo fans aren’t enough.

[Predrag]

Beautiful landscapes and worlds. If they can carry this visual density and image quality to the games, oh my

[Joe_Sinister1]

@Sparda3g

I think it’s smart for them to work on the engine for about two years to see what it can do before they can say it is officially using it. Many developers in the past or perhaps even today are forced to use the engine and make a game out of it with no stoppage. This sounds like they got the hang of it and decided to go full speed ahead. Plus, their leader is very much capable to understand what needs to be done instead of what should remain to be held despite the change of today’s gaming.

I imagine a lot of that research was seeing if Halo’s physics and gamefeel can be translated to UE5. I am guessing ( Hoping ) that was the case. That was the biggest misgiving I had over the rumors ( at the time) of Halo moving to Unreal. So long as it still feels like a Halo game, I don’t give a shit what engine they use.

[Jimmy_1984]

I think one of the other projects could be Halo Wars 3

[Shadowgasm]

@Joe_Sinister1

So long as it still feels like a Halo game, I don’t give a shit what engine they use.

This is how I feel as well.

[leburn98]

@Knottian

To be fair, there are legitimate deficiencies with UE5 and Epic having a near-monopoly on middleware isn’t a future I’m embracing. There’s also plenty to be said about bespoke engines… but yeah, I guess we’re just “haters”.

What’s funnier to me is how people are still falling over themselves over tech demos… especially with Unreal Engine (there are still elements of UE4 that were promised that still don’t exist in 5 ffs). How have some of you gotten collective amnesia

I’m also not convinced that moving most of your projects (across XGS) over to Unreal is the smartest thing to do, as it puts you at the mercy of Epic.

There have been rumors that Avowed, Hellblade 2 and State of Decay 3 all had some form of delays while waiting for the full release of UE5. Not saying these issues do not occur with bespoke engines, but at least you are the one in control.

The plus side of UE5 is most developers know the engine at this point, so onboarding should be minimal. Also, you now have collaborative opportunities with The Coalition, Ninja Theory, etc.