343 Industries was quick to deny the fact that the license Halo could be taken away from him, but obviously there is no smoke without fire. Jason Schreier from Bloomberg took a close interest in this story and if the journalist can affirm that indeed, Halo remains in the fold of 343 Industries for years to come, the studio is still preparing to embark on a new path.
The studio is heading in a whole new direction
Schreier begins by recalling that the studio was hard hit by the wave of layoffs announced by Microsoft, since nearly 95 employees were fired in the process. Kiki Wolfkill, Licensing Transmedia Manager Halofor example, would be part of this group, as would other veterans.
Despite these departures, Matt Booty confirmed to the studio that 343 Industries would remain in control of the series Halo, although other studios and teams will come to lend a hand. However, changes will take place.
First of all, the studio will drop its in-house engineSlipspace, which will have been one of the main causes of the problems encountered in the development of Halo Infinite. This same engine would continue to slow down teams, which would have delayed the release of several expected multiplayer modes, such as Assault or Extraction. It was at the end of last year, when Bonnie Ross left the head of the studio, that the decision to switch to the Unreal Engine 5 would have been taken.
The future of the series Halo will therefore be done with the Epic Games engine, and it will start with the game answering to the code name Tatankawhich was known as a Battle Royale but could evolve into other genres according to the journalist’s sources. However, with this change, you definitely have to give up on a single-player DLC to Halo Infinite. This will not happen, since the team would rather be working on new games Halo. Halo Infinite will not die tomorrow, however, 343 Industries being ready to offer a long-lasting experience.
In sum, Halo will soon start again on new bases, just like 343 Industries. Let’s hope the best for the remaining employees, while wishing good luck to those who have just lost their jobs.