343 Industries has undergone a rebranding to become Halo Studios and is currently developing several games using Unreal Engine 5

Microsoft has unveiled significant developments for 343 Industries, the creators of the Halo franchise, including a rebranding, a shift to a new game engine, and the commencement of various new projects within the iconic shooting series.

The studio will be rebranded as Halo Studios. According to an announcement on Xbox Wire, these adjustments also encompass cultural and structural changes within the company.

A pivotal change in this transformation is the transition from the Slipspace Engine to Unreal Engine 5, a move initially disclosed in 2023.

Subsequent Halo games will be developed using Epic Games' technology. With multiple new games already underway, this step is described as "a new dawn for Halo."

Halo Studios' leadership explained on Xbox Wire that leveraging a widely adopted engine like Unreal aids in recruiting seasoned professionals, circumventing the need for extensive training on internal technologies.

The previous need to allocate "a large portion of its staff" for the Slipspace Engine's development has been reassessed, and the team now collaborates with Epic Games to tailor Unreal Engine to Halo's requirements.

Elizabeth van Wyck, COO of Halo Studios, expressed, "The previous approach to developing Halo games isn't as effective for our future goals. Our focus has turned to game development rather than creating the tools and engines themselves."

This phase is labeled as the beginning of a new journey with no immediate releases planned for a new Halo game. Meanwhile, ongoing updates and enhancements for Halo Infinite will continue during the development of upcoming titles.

Since the 2021 debut of Halo Infinite, the studio has undergone several transformations. It has been impacted by extensive layoffs at Microsoft and experienced a leadership change when Bonnie Ross stepped down in 2022.