In addition, the newly-rebranded studio say that all future projects will be developed on Unreal Engine, leaving behind the Slipspace Engine utilized by Halo Infinite.
While it’s not much more than a tech demo, it offers a glimpse at a fresh beginning for Xbox’s flagship franchise in the wake of 2021’s Halo Infinite.
Loading Play It’s a huge shift for the Halo series, not the least because of the resources poured into the Slipspace Engine over the course of its development.
Still, it was expected to serve as the foundation for the series after Halo Infinite.
“We had a disproportionate focus on trying to create the conditions to be successful in servicing Halo Infinite,” says Hintze.
The direction that Halo will take is beginning to clear. Three-three Industries announced several things during Sunday’s Halo World Championships: it will officially be rebranding as Halo Studios and it is developing several new games. Furthermore, the recently rebranded studio has announced that it will no longer be using the Slipspace Engine for Halo Infinite and will instead be developing all future projects on Unreal Engine.
A seven-minute film that aired prior to the Halo World Championship’s grand finals revealed the announcements and featured the outcomes of Project Foundry, an experimental project meant to demonstrate a Halo game created with the Unreal Engine. Even though it’s essentially a tech demo, it provides an overview of Xbox’s main series’ future after 2021’s Halo Infinite.
It’s a significant change for the Halo series, in part because of the enormous amount of resources invested in the Slipspace Engine during development. Using tools from the early 2000s, the studio that was formerly known as 343 Industries had a notoriously difficult time with the Slipspace engine during the development of Halo Infinite. Nonetheless, the series after Halo Infinite was supposed to build upon it.
In an interview with Xbox Wire, art director Chris Matthews stated, “Respectfully, some components of Slipspace are almost 25 years old.”. “Even though 343 was working on it nonstop, there are elements of Unreal that Epic has been working on for a while that we are not able to access in Slipspace and would have required a significant investment of time and money to try and duplicate. “.
According to a report from early 2023, Halo’s developers were prepared to restart the series following a significant reorganization within the studio that included switching to the Unreal Engine. Additionally, the report stated that while Halo developers were prototyping ideas, they were concentrating on pitching new Halo games. The result of that effort seems to be Project Foundry.
For its part, the recently renamed Halo Studios, led by Pierre Hintze, Elizabeth Van Wyck, and Brian Koski, is attempting to advance, currently developing several new games. Following the departure of studio general manager Bonnie Ross in 2022, and the departure of Xbox series veteran Joseph Staten in 2023, the three assumed prominent positions at the studio. The Xbox announced earlier this year that it is working “full speed ahead” on a next-generation successor to the Xbox Series X|S, which is why the engine and name have changed.
“We had a disproportionate focus on trying to create the conditions to be successful in servicing Halo Infinite,” says Hintze. But moving to Unreal lets us concentrate entirely on creating as many new experiences as we can at the best quality. “.
According to Halo Studios, the projects will be ready “when they’re ready.”. For the time being, be sure to check out Podcast Unlocked and IGN for a ton more analysis.
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