Halo Infinite was a good release, but it was far from Master Chief’s hoped-for rise to glory. To this we must add several development and post-launch support problems that have caused 343 Industries to undergo a major restructuring. That will lead to changes, among which is abandoning the graphics engine they currently use and which has been a headache.
According to new research from Jason Schreier, one of the industry’s most trusted journalists, 343 Industries is going through a phase of many changes that will impact Halo. In a Bloomberg article, Schreier explained that he has been assured by multiple sources that 343 Industries will continue to run Halo (although they will work with third-party partners and outsourcing studios), but that there will be plenty of changes.
Microsoft’s 343 Industries will still make Halo games, despite rumors to the contrary. But with mass layoffs (at least 95 people), an engine pivot to Unreal, and a focus only on multiplayer for the near future, 343 is hitting the reset button. New story: https://t.co/kwfv6dsMuR
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) January 31, 2023
Perhaps the most important change is that 343 Industries will abandon Splitspace Engine, the graphics engine it developed for Halo Infinite and which was destined to be the future of the series. It turns out that the expensive graphics engine has been one of those responsible for the bad support that Halo Infinite has received and there are even developers who say that it is “difficult to use” and that it has several bugs.
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Apparently, the situation with the Splitspace Engine is so critical that popular game modes like Extraction and Assault haven’t made it to Halo Infinite due to engine issues. This despite the fact that its development is practically finished.
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Halo will move to Unreal Engine
So what will happen to Halo? The idea of 343 Industries is to move to Unreal Engine, the popular graphics engine from Epic Games that has become one of the most used in the entire industry.
Apparently, over the past decade there have been several times where members of 343 Industries debated whether to start using Unreal Engine. However, the change came until late last year when Bonnie Ross, former head of the studio, and David Berger, former head of the engine, left 343 Industries. With Pierre Hiontze at the helm, the company made the decision to leave Splitspace behind in favor of Unreal Engine.
The move to Unreal Engine will begin with the release of Tatanka, a project co-developed with Certain Affinity. Schreier points out that the project started as a Battle Royale, but could evolve in another direction.
With the above, 343 Industries will begin to explore a future with Unreal Engine as the official graphics engine for Halo. Of course, there are still fears within the company that the change could impact the way in which the franchise is played and felt; however, they believe it will make development much easier.
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Over the past few months, several developers at 343 Industries have been working on prototyping new ideas for Halo on Unreal Engine. Unfortunately, many of them were laid off, so it is possible that several of these concepts will remain just that.
It is worth mentioning that, although it comes from a very reliable source, Microsoft has not commented on this situation. We will stay tuned and let you know when we know more about it.
what do you think about this information? Do you think the graphics engine change will benefit Halo? Tell us in the comments.
Halo Infinite is available for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC. You can learn more about this title by reading our review or by clicking here.
Related Video: Halo 2: Anniversary – Debut Trailer on PC
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