Halo Studios Embraces Change with Unreal Engine Transition
In a significant shift for the gaming industry, 343 Industries, the developer behind the iconic Halo franchise, has announced its rebranding as Halo Studios. This transformation was unveiled through a blog post that accompanied a video presentation during the Halo World Championship esports event.
As part of this rebranding, Halo Studios confirmed its transition from the proprietary Slipspace Engine to the widely acclaimed Unreal Engine. This move aligns with earlier reports from Bloomberg in 2023, highlighting a trend among game developers to adopt third-party engines. Notably, CD Projekt also made a similar transition in 2022, moving away from its own Red Engine to Epic’s robust software.
The decision to switch engines reflects the growing complexities of game development, which often demands extensive time and resources. Managing proprietary technology has become increasingly burdensome for many studios, leading to a collective shift toward more streamlined solutions. While utilizing an off-the-shelf engine does not completely resolve all challenges, it significantly alleviates some of the pressures faced by developers.
“We believe that the consumption habits of gamers have changed – the expectations of how fast their content is available,” stated Pierre Hintze, the head of Halo Studios. He elaborated on the challenges faced during the development of Halo Infinite, where the team aimed to create a tech stack that would support future projects while simultaneously working on the game itself.
Chris Matthews, the studio’s art director, emphasized the limitations of the Slipspace Engine, noting that certain components are nearly 25 years old. Despite ongoing development efforts, the advancements made by Epic Games in Unreal Engine provide capabilities that would have required significant time and resources to replicate within Slipspace. “One of the primary things we’re interested in is growing and expanding our world so players have more to interact with and more to experience,” Matthews explained. He highlighted Unreal’s Nanite and Lumen technologies, which promise to enhance rendering and lighting in ways that have not been seen before in the industry, making the creative process particularly exciting for the team.
For those interested in the announcement, the video detailing this pivotal transition can be viewed below: