Halo developer 343 Industries has announced the studio’s name change alongside a new game engine for its franchise. The studio aims to take a fresh start and bring its beloved series to its former glory.
From now on, 343 Industries will be called Halo Studios, an understandable change since the series is its main workhorse. Moreover, the studio is moving away from the Slipspace engine to Unreal Engine 5. Another comprehensible decision following the resignation of multiple high-ranking engine developers. Lastly, the studio is expanding its team in preparation for the next entry in the Halo universe.
Moving to Epic’s engine can be both good and bad. Having a working code on which to base your game is undoubtedly handy. Aside from freeing development time to do other tasks, you can rely on a third party to fix any engine-related issues. That said, this comes at the price of less control over engine development. One hand takes, the other gives right back.
Hopefully, this move will simplify the team’s work, allowing them to focus on the story and gameplay. At the same time, going for UE5 ensures the latest graphics technologies, which I must say look amazing in the video below. With that in mind, a name plus engine change won’t suddenly make Halo the go-to FPS it was back in the day.
I feel like 343 forgot what made Halo fun in the first place, i.e. a nice story, fantastic multi-player, and no Battle Pass. I understand that game development costs more nowadays, but that’s not a reason to lock content behind a paywall, especially from the beginning. The original Halo trilogy from Bungie was excellent. Although the switch to a different developer was rocky, Halo 4 and 5 were fine despite not capturing the glory of their predecessors. Even Halo Wars was fun. But boy, Halo Infinite took the definition of boring to a new level. It felt like a cheap knockoff of Far Cry.
For me, the fun factor, gameplay, and support are the main components of a successful title. How many of you have spent countless hours in Among Us or Mario Kart simply for the fun? Same for gameplay; how many of you still play Call of Duty and GTA just for kicks? As for support, I bet you know of at least one title that lost most of its players due to a lack of aftercare. Looking at you, Anthem.
While I’m not a game developer, here’s how I see things: the Halo series is, first of all, about the story. This means it needs a decently long, well-written campaign at launch rather than making players wait, complete with co-op. As a reminder, online-only campaign co-op only reached Infinite a year after launch, with couch co-op on the cutting room floor.
Though not at the same level as facing The Flood for the first time in Halo: Combat Evolved, witnessing the evolution of Cortana during Halo 4 and 5 was fantastic. I want a story moment that I will remember years after. Also, no need make the same mistake as Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, wasting 50% of the budget on Hollywood celebrities. I’d rather see that money diverted towards writers and developers.
Naturally, multiplayer shouldn’t be an afterthought as gameplay and gun balance are crafted around it. In this regard, I think 343 has things under control. I didn’t find any gun or vehicle overpowered during my playtime in Halo Infinite, and the movement/combat felt reactive and smooth. Mechanically, it was a return to form, of sorts. Adding dedicated servers and a good third-party anti-cheat would be welcome, allowing the game to continue working even if the developers move to other projects.
All this to say, I still have hope for the Halo series, and I will follow 343’s transformation. Hopefully, we will not wait long to see the fruits of these changes.