Despite the failure of Halo: Infinite, Microsoft does not want to give up on the shooter series. Apparently, several new games are already in the works, which will be developed using Unreal Engine 5.
You’d think the Halo series is currently under an unlucky star. Infinite, the last offshoot of the long-standing shooter series, is widely considered a flop. The controversial TV series from Paramount was canceled this summer due to poor viewership.
After the great successes of the earlier Halo games from developer Bungie, the newer games from 343 Industries could no longer live up to the series’ former greatness. Part 5 was criticized for its confusing story, and Halo: Infinite lost sight of itself despite good approaches due to a forced open-world orientation.
But owner Microsoft apparently doesn’t want to simply write off its former Xbox flagship and has now announced several projects with which it wants to turn the tide in the Halo universe. We have the details.
New games, new engine
First the good news: Halo is not dead – the series will definitely continue. As Microsoft and the responsible development studio 343 announced at the Halo World Championship 2024, several games from the Halo universe are currently in the works.
What these projects will be is currently still open. However, it is already clear that the future Halo titles will no longer be based on the in-house Slipspace engine, but on Epic’s visually impressive Unreal Engine 5.
During the development of Infinite, the 343 team repeatedly encountered problems with their own engine, which dated back to the old Bungie era of Halo. After the release, the team worked internally for the past two years on a project called Foundry, a tech demo designed to explore the possibilities of Halo within Unreal Engine 5.
Microsoft has released some concept images of the future of HALO, which will be created in Unreal Engine 5. pic.twitter.com/0SjYcxMkM9
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) October 6, 2024
In a first video, the developers show the results of their work – and they are quite impressive. Thanks to the new engine, the new adventures of the Master Chief will soon look better than ever. Outsourcing the engine also saves a lot of internal work, allowing the developers to put the freed-up potential into the game design.
But it will probably be quite a while before a new Halo game comes out All of the projects mentioned are still in the early stages of development. However, fan feedback on the new look has been consistently positive.
New name, new mode
The fact that everything is now supposed to turn out for the best after the difficult years for Halo should also be made clear by a change in the developers themselves. Because 343 Industries no longer exists
The development studio responsible for Halo is being renamed Halo Studios, and the management team has also been replaced since the Infinite release. This should make it clear how serious the developers are about the change they are striving for. However, it is really necessary, because in the eyes of many fans, 343 has never been able to match the previous Halo studio, Bungie, in terms of game design.
The Halo World Championship also brought good news for Infinite players because the shooter is getting new content: This November, the last part of the series so far is to get a new third-person mode. It’s the first time in the history of the Halo series that a game has attempted this change of perspective. You can get a first taste of the new mode here:
Experience a new way to play!
3rd Person Mode is coming to Halo Infinite this November pic.twitter.com/WkDkGLx8fF
— Halo (@Halo) October 4, 2024
First, the new third-person view will be available in Firefight mode, according to the developers, with other game modes to follow later. However, it is questionable whether this can turn the tide for Infinite. After all, the shoulder view was probably not at the top of Halo fans’ priority list.
And finally, some happy news: To mark the 20th anniversary of Halo 2, a legendary level that was cut from the final few meters of the game in the release version will be returning to the game from November 9. We are talking about the 2003 E3 demo, which once again fueled the already high hype among fans for the sequel.
As 343 (now Halo Studios) and Digsite, a team of modders specializing in cut Halo content, announced, the level will be available via Steam as workshop content for the Master Chief Collection to mark the anniversary.
Are you still playing Halo Infinite? What are your hopes for the future of the legendary shooter series? Let us know in the comments!
