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Halo franchise reportedly switching to Unreal Engine 5

With plans to support Halo Infinite for a decade, it seems like we could see 343 move the game from its proprietary Slipspace Engine to UE5 in the near future.

TJ Denzer

October 3, 2022 11:55 AM

Image via Xbox Game Studios

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Halo Infinite and, by extension, 343 Industries have had a rough go of it over the last year. The game’s single-player and free-to-play format originally launched to some applause, but a myriad of issues in the current game and delays on planned features have made a mess of Halo Infinite’s promising launch. It’s supposedly bad enough for 343 to consider shifting engines on the Halo series. There have been reports that the developer is planning on moving to Unreal Engine 5, which would likely include shifting Halo Infinite’s engine to UE5 as well.

These rumors have been shared by journalist Jeremy Penter, who stated that several sources confirmed 343 Industries was moving the franchise over to Unreal. While said rumors have not openly suggested that this move would include Halo Infinite, 343 Industries leadership previously confirmed it would be supporting the game for around 10 years, as shared by IGN. With that in mind, if a move to UE5 is happening, it seems likely it would include Halo Infinite.

This would be a major move for 343 Industries. The developer has been using its proprietary Slipspace Engine for all Halo projects, up to and including Halo Infinite. However, it has also faced a number of technical difficulties in doing this. Bugs have marred various updates, features like Forge Mode have been delayed repeatedly, and local Campaign Mode co-op has been outright canceled. With the troubles Halo Infinite has faced, it might very well be that it’s seeming more reasonable to move to development to UE5 than continue to work in the Slipspace ecosystem.

Of course, this is still a rumor. There has been no official word from 343 Industries, Xbox Game Studios, or Microsoft just yet on a move of Halo to Unreal Engine 5. Stay tuned as we continue to watch for updates and confirmation.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.