Microsoft has exciting news for Halo fans: multiple new Halo games are on the horizon, accompanied by a significant rebranding of 343 Industries—the studio behind the beloved military sci-fi franchise—to “Halo Studios.”
Xbox Game Studio's 343 Industries Rebrands to Halo Studios
343 Industries, the Microsoft-owned studio that succeeded the original Halo creators, Bungie, has announced that it's working on several new Halo projects. Alongside this exciting news, the studio has undergone a rebranding and will now operate as Halo Studios."If you really break Halo down, there have been two very distinct chapters. Chapter 1 – Bungie. Chapter 2 – 343 Industries. Now, I think we have an audience which is hungry for more," Studio Head Pierre Hintze stated in an announcement post. "So we’re not just going to try to improve the efficiency of development, but change the recipe of how we make Halo games. So, we start a new chapter today."
The studio has also revealed that it will be developing future Halo titles using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5 (UE5). This powerful engine is renowned for delivering stunning graphics and realistic physics in top-tier game titles. "The first Halo redefined console gaming in 2001, and over the generations Halo has pushed the state of the art forward with amazing gameplay, story, and music," Epic CEO Tim Sweeney shared in a tweet. "Epic is honored that the Halo Studios team has chosen our tools to help with their future work!"
In line with today's announcement, Halo's lead developers discussed the military sci-fi franchise's new direction. "We had a disproportionate focus on trying to create the conditions to be successful in servicing Halo Infinite," Hintze explained, emphasizing their experience in steering the Halo franchise forward. He further noted that the switch to UE5 will enable them to craft Halo games of the highest possible quality. "We want a singular focus," Hintze added. "Everyone in this place is here to make the best possible Halo games."
Halo franchise COO Elizabeth Van Wyck reinforced this vision, stating, "At the end of the day, if we build the games that our players want to play, that’s how we’ll be successful. That’s what should motivate what we build. That’s also what this structure has done – we want the people that are day-in-day-out making the games to be the ones to make the decisions on the games." Van Wyck also mentioned their commitment to gathering "wider and wider feedback" from the player base as they embark on this new journey. "At the end of the day, it’s not just how do we evaluate, it’s how do our players evaluate it?"
As gaming preferences evolve, Studio Art Director Chris Matthew highlighted that the transition to UE5 will allow developers to meet the fans' expectations more effectively. "Respectfully, some components of Slipspace are almost 25 years old," he explained. "Although 343 were developing it continuously, there are aspects of Unreal that Epic has been developing for some time, which are unavailable to us in Slipspace – and would have taken huge amounts of time and resources to try and replicate."
Shifting Halo to UE5 not only promises quicker game development but also facilitates more frequent updates and new content. "It’s not just about how long it takes to bring a game to market, but how long it takes for us to update the game, bring new content to players, adapt to what we’re seeing our players want," Van Wyck remarked. With Halo Studios' ambitious plans now in motion, the studio has begun recruiting for these exciting new projects.
