343 Industries is now Halo Studios, taps Unreal Engine 5 to power future Halo games

343 Industries, the famed video game developer known for the Halo franchise, has now rebranded itself as Halo Studios in rather shocking news in the gaming world. A part of the Xbox Game Studios, the company also announced that it’s migrating to the latest Unreal Engine 5 to power future Halo games.

During the Halo World Championships, as announced by the studio’s head Pierre Hintze, 343 Industries announced the rebranding and moved from the struggling in-house Slipsace Engine used for Halo Infinite (2021). The company’s website has also gone full change with elements of “Halo Studios” in almost every corner of it.

The company said that the move was made as a part of a fresh start for the franchise to focus on multiple new game projects, as demonstrated in a tech demo from their experimental Project Foundry. The studio also showed off all the stunning visuals of the latest engine, featuring Halo’s rich lore including the Master Chief battling Covenant enemies.

As a part of the announcement, 343 Industries also said that a surprise 3rd-person mode for Halo Infinite is set to launch next month, where players will be able to switch perspectives at will, although details on the mode remain limited for now.

“I’ve gotten the chance to see Halo in Unreal 5 and it made me scream it was so mind-blowing. So thrilled for the entire team at Halo Studios, excited for this next chapter for the franchise,” says Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft’s VP for Xbox Games Marketing.

Last year, Halo Infinite reportedly reached a milestone of over 30 million unique players, an increase from 20 million in January 2022.