Halo fans could get all the laser rifles, explosive Scorpion tanks, and Banshee aircraft they’ve ever dreamed of in a brand new line-up of games.
Microsoft is planning a veritable Halo bonanza, with several new titles in the works, complete with stunning next-gen visuals, in a bid to revive the flagging sci-fi series - and atone for the mistakes of Halo Infinite.
Hailed as a new chapter for Halo, the upcoming games will see the franchise transition from the Slipspace Engine (created specifically for Halo Infinite) to the more widely adopted Unreal Engine 5 (UE5).
Consequently, all future Halo projects will be built on the cutting-edge gaming platform.
To mark this transition, 343 Industries is changing its name to Halo Studios. In a blog post, the Microsoft-owned developer detailed how these changes will benefit gamers.
By switching to Unreal Engine 5, Halo Studios says it can focus more on delivering content that resonates with players, rather than spending valuable time tinkering with its proprietary Slipspace Engine, the older parts of which are starting to show their age.
This adjustment will also enable the team to respond faster to fan feedback, push out updates more frequently, and work on multiple projects simultaneously.
Before you get too excited, this doesn’t mean a new Halo game is dropping tomorrow — or even this year. Instead of unveiling a specific game, the studio teased fans with a stunning new video highlighting the jaw-dropping visual capabilities of UE5, and offering a glimpse of what’s coming down the line.
The clip, which you can watch in full above, gives us a tour of several familiar and alien environments created as part of a new Halo research initiative called Project Foundry. Waterfalls are shown cascading down cliffs surrounded by lush foliage; there’s a glimpse of a frosty location known as the Coldlands; and a brand new setting called the Blightlands, which has been ravaged by the Flood, an alien parasite that mutates everything it touches.
Much of what was shown in the presentation is expected to be part of Halo’s future releases, according to Halo Studios. The goal is to restore Halo’s reputation as a graphical showcase for the Xbox, the console it has become synonymous with, the developer said.
With Microsoft already touting the next-gen Xbox console as a massive technological leap, it’s likely we’re seeing a preview of the Halo games designed to take full advantage of that power.
But, with no word on when the new games will materialise, the move will largely be seen as a way of addressing the concerns around Halo Infinite. Released in 2021, the latest installment in the long-running Halo series added a live service multiplayer component alongside the main campaign.
However, it suffered serious setbacks from the get-go, putting strain on the relationship between fans and the developers. The game was criticised for its lack of core features at launch, including a co-op mode. Meanwhile, multiplayer was bogged down by an extended second season that lasted six months instead of the anticipated three. The prolonged wait for new content only served to rile up fans further.
With its commitment to releasing new and improved games, the rebranded Halo Studios will be hoping gamers can forgive and forget.
