Games by 343 Industries
Reviews of 343 Industries Games
Review Halo Infinite - Master Chief's Latest Outing Was Worth The Wait
Hail to the Chief
After a couple of weeks' worth of blasting around the same ten maps in its excellent multiplayer component, Halo fans are about to get their hands on the next part of their early Xmas present, the campaign component of Halo Infinite is finally here. It's been six whole years since our last mainline Master Chief experience and this...
Review Halo: The Master Chief Collection - Another Chance To Revisit The Classics On Series X
What once was old...
Update (Tue 17th Nov, 2020): While we wait for Halo Infinite to land on Xbox Series X, at least we have a Series X|S optimised version of Halo: The Master Chief Collection now. Players with compatible displays will be able to experience up to 120 FPS at 4K on Series X and 1080p on Series S. This update also includes some...
Review Halo 5: Guardians (Xbox One)
Combat Evolved
343 Industries took a lot of risks with Halo 5: Guardians. Tampering with the fundamentals of a series as respected and beloved as Halo could be disastrous, but the Microsoft-created studio went ahead and did it anyway. Considering Halo 4 divided the fan base and caused many to worry that the franchise might be in the wrong hands, you...
Review Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (Xbox 360)
"You had me at Halo"
The purple "Better with Kinect Sensor" stripe is a familiar sight on games now, but strangely it's nowhere to be seen on Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, a HD revamp of the game that arguably established Microsoft as a major player in the console business. To put it another way: no Halo, no Kinect. Halo CE brings the...
Latest 343 Industries News
Tuesday1st Apr 2025
Rumour Halo's Leap To Other Platforms Might Be More Limited Than Expected
UE5 has been a significant shift
There have been ongoing rumours about the Halo: Master Chief Collection making the jump across to certain other platforms, but now new information suggests it might not necessarily play out like expected. Speaking to 'The Xbox Two' podcast about the upcoming Switch 2 launch, The Verge's senior editor Tom Warren...
Friday31st Jan 2025
News Halo PS5 Rumours Resurface Following Forza Horizon 5 Announcement
"But we'll see"
It's been another massive week in the world of Xbox, and after ongoing rumours, it's now been officially confirmed that Forza Horizon 5 will be arriving on PlayStation 5 this spring. If you are wondering what the plan might be for PS5 beyond this point, it seems Xbox's main mascot could be one of the next ones up with Halo: The...
Monday13th Jan 2025
News Lenovo Accidentally Raises Hopes Of A Halo 5 PC Release
Lenovo Legion No
To this day, Halo 5: Guardians remains the only mainline Halo title not to release on PC, despite the Master Chief Collection being super popular on Steam ever since it arrived five years ago. Well, fans of Xbox's big green chief had their hopes up this weekend that things may soon change regarding Halo 5 on PC, but that doesn't...
Thursday2nd Jan 2025
News Xbox Fans Think Back To Halo Infinite Feature Finally Made Famous In 2024
"Halo Infinite did this first but nobody cared"
Prior to the launch of Halo Infinite in 2021, Xbox fans were very excited for a new era of Halo multiplayer, especially when it contained consumer-friendly features like free-to-play online access and battle pass progression that never expired. Over the course of the game's life cycle, Halo Infinite...
Tuesday12th Nov 2024
Talking Point 10 Years On, It's Been A Mighty Turnaround For Halo: Master Chief Collection
Xbox eventually finished the fight
All the way back in 2014, Microsoft had a killer lineup planned for the second year of Xbox One. The team had the likes of Forza Horizon 2 and Sunset Overdrive bringing brand-new experiences to players at the start of the last generation, but it was one title in particular that led the charge for Xbox that year -...
Wednesday6th Nov 2024
News Halo Infinite's New Third-Person Mode Seems To Be Going Down Well On Xbox
Firefight-only for now
Halo Infinite continues to grow following Microsoft's recent 'Halo Studios' rebranding, and this month's update has delivered third-person gameplay for the very first time. Available now in the game's co-op Firefight mode, third-person
Friday1st Nov 2024
News Halo Infinite Shows Off New 'SMG-Class' Weapon, Arriving Next Week
Cross-referenced with the SMGs from Halo 2, ODST & 5
After a teaser earlier this week, the Halo Infinite team has now officially lifted the lid on the 'MA5K Avenger' in its latest livestream. This new fully automatic rifle has a "commanding presence" when it comes to close-quarters combat in Halo Infinite multiplayer. It's an "SMG-class" weapon,...
Tuesday29th Oct 2024
News Halo Infinite Teases New Weapon DLC In 'Operation: Grand Journey'
Arriving next week
The Halo Infinite team has just dropped a teaser for its next Operation, Grand Journey, and it seems to focus on a brand-new weapon coming to the game's multiplayer suite. We've included this short teaser trailer up above, which doesn't show any proper gameplay - instead focusing solely on this mystery weapon. Halo fans are...
Wednesday16th Oct 2024
News Halo Infinite's Battle Royale Was Supposedly A 'Game Changer' Before It Was Cancelled At Xbox
"We loved playing it and working on it"
For months and months and months we heard about a Halo Infinite battle royale game being in development during the game's lifecycle. It was never formally acknowledged by Xbox, but some big sources spoke about it on multiple occasions - and now an official
Thursday10th Oct 2024
Poll Which Of These Is Your Favourite 343 Industries Halo Game?
As we move on to 'Halo Studios'
So, alongside Xbox's big push towards an Unreal Engine 5 shaped future for Halo, Microsoft's long-term steward of the franchise will be no more - in name anyway. Yep, 343 Industries will soon become Halo Studios, which poses the question - which is the best Halo game that 343 has produced? We're going t
News New Rumour Claims 'Halo Infinite 2' Slipspace Project Was Axed
It wouldn't be a surprise given the swap to UE5
Microsoft announced major news earlier this week - revealing the rebrand of 343 as 'Halo Studios' and that future Halo titles would be developed on Unreal Engine 5 going forward. Now, a new "exclusive" from 'Rebs Gaming' has reportedly shed light on the lead up to this big change and what might have...
Tuesday8th Oct 2024
Talking Point Does Xbox's 'New Dawn' For Halo Mean The Series Will Come To PS5?
Let the speculation begin
Xbox has only just rebranded 343 Industries to 'Halo Studios' in the wake of the series' big Unreal Engine 5 revolution - and already the speculation is out there that this hints at a strong push towards a PS5 release. That speculation may partly derive from previous reports suggesting Xbox was working on a Halo: Combat...
Monday7th Oct 2024
Reaction Halo Is Still Xbox's Baby, And It's Time For The Series To Shine On UE5
All engines are a-go
So, there we have it - Halo is about to enter "a new dawn" at Microsoft as the team switches focus to developing multiple Unreal Engine 5 Halo titles. It's a bold step for everyone involved, and it marks a massive change since the development and post-launch support of Halo Infinite. While exactly what this future looks like...
News Halo Dev Explains Decision Behind Ditching Its Old Game Engine
Slipspace is no more
Xbox has announced that its Halo team is making massive changes moving forward, not only re-branding to 'Halo Studios' but also moving to an entirely new game-making toolset with Unreal Engine 5. This means that what was 343 Industries is completely ditching its proprietary 'Slipspace Engine' used to develop Halo Infinite - and...
News Halo Enters 'New Dawn' With New Studio Name, Engine And Games
'Halo Studios' is developing multiple games on UE5
Before kicking off the 2024 Halo World Championships, Microsoft announced a "new dawn" for the Halo series - with 343 Studios rebranding (and expanding) as Halo Studios while also revealing a new game engine and a new philosophy. Going forward, the Halo series will now run on Unreal Engine 5. All...
Saturday5th Oct 2024
News Halo Infinite Is Getting Third-Person Mode Later This Year
Three years after launch!
Woah, this isn't something we expected to see logging on this morning! As part of a recent 343 Industries livestream, the team has revealed that third-person mode is coming to Halo Infinite this November! Yep, a full three years on from release, third-person gameplay feels like a pretty major feature to be adding to...
Tuesday24th Sep 2024
News Xbox 360 Classic Halo 3: ODST Celebrates Its 15th Anniversary
"Remember the Rookie"
Microsoft is already planning for certain other Halo and Xbox-related anniversaries, but right now, the focus is on the Xbox 360 classic Halo 3: ODST. Believe it or not, but it's now been 15 years since we dropped into New Mombasa as a rookie on a mission to locate Alpha-Nine. This also includes the debut of the wave-based...
Monday23rd Sep 2024
News Xbox Exec Reveals How Much Money Microsoft Has Made From Halo
And it's probably grown since!
Look, we know that Halo is one of Xbox's biggest franchises - it's been synonymous with the brand since 2001 when it made its OG Xbox debut. It's always been safe to assume that the famous sci-fi series makes plenty of bank for Microsoft, and a new LinkedIn post hints at the kind of money the Xbox owner is bringing in...
Friday13th Sep 2024
News Halo's Cancelled Mega Bloks Prototype Game Just Got Released
A talented group has restored project 'Haggar'
Halo tends to focus on its mainline series, but there have been some spin-offs throughout its history. One of these games was actually the cancelled project 'Haggar' - probably better remembered as a third-person-style Halo game set in the world of Mega Bloks. Apparently there's been some progress...
Friday6th Sep 2024
News Xbox's Longtime Halo Developer 343 Industries Is On The Lookout For A New Creative Director
"Come and help us build the future of Halo"
It's looking like Xbox is full steam ahead when it comes to building the next Halo game, with the Halo Infinite developer on the lookout for major new hires. Back in July, 343 Industries confirmed that it was the team to lead Xbox's famous franchise into the future, and now it's hiring for a creative...
Wednesday7th Aug 2024
News 343 Dev Responds To Concern About Hackers Banning Halo: MCC Players
"This is crazy"
Late last year, 343 Industries began winding down development on Halo: The Master Chief Collection after almost a decade of major updates, and at the time, fans were concerned about the future of the collection and where things would go from here. Well, now the community is seeing some troubling 'ban' messages pop up in-game that...
Thursday25th Jul 2024
News Halo Infinite's 'Massive' Forge Mode Update Adds Over 1,000 Jeff Steitzer Voice Lines
"Unfrigginbelievable!"
Halo Infinite has been updated over time with all sorts of new content and quality-of-life enhancements. This includes improvements to the game's Forge mode, and the next one on the way is apparently going to be "massive". This update will arrive alongside the new operation on July 30th, 2024, and brings new features like...
Wednesday24th Jul 2024
News Halo Infinite: Operation Fleetcom Brings Back Two Classic Halo Game Modes
Who's the VIP?
343 Industries has detailed its next Halo Infinite update in the form of Operation: Fleetcom. Landing next week, the new operation is packed full of new features - but it's the two returning game modes that we're most interested in right now. At Operation: Fleetcom's launch on July 30th, Infinite players will be able to jump into...
Friday19th Jul 2024
News Halo TV Show Cancelled By Paramount+ After Two Seasons
Xbox will reportedly seek "another outlet for a third season"
We've got some breaking news about the Halo TV Show, with Paramount+ announcing it's officially cancelling the series after two seasons. Here is the official Paramount+ statement about the cancellation of its Halo series (via The Hollywood Reporter): “We are extremely proud of this...
Tuesday16th Jul 2024
News 343 Responds To Rumours About The Studio Outsourcing Halo Development
It ain't happening, chief
There seems to have been some strong rumours going around recently suggesting that Xbox studio 343 Industries was moving towards an 'overseer' role for future Halo games - hinting that they'd no longer be the series' core developer. Well, a number of sources have now come out to shut down those rumours, including a comment...
Wednesday26th Jun 2024
News Halo Infinite Finally Adds 'Multi-Team' Game Modes Into Online Matchmaking
"Multi-Team is now live in Combat Workshop"
Halo Infinite has evolved a lot since it came to Xbox back in 2021, particularly the multiplayer suite which has seen some major updates since launch. Until this point though, the series' mainstay 'Multi-Team' mode was completely absent from the game - a situation that's now been addressed. As part of a...
Thursday6th Jun 2024
Report Xbox Is Working On A Halo Remaster, Also 'Considering' PS5 Release
Oh my goodness me
Just as we thought all eyes were now on the Xbox Games Showcase this weekend, a megaton report from The Verge drops on us, containing details about a Halo remaster with a potential multiplatform release plan. Yep, according to the outlet's reporter Tom Warren, Microsoft is spooling up plans to remaster Halo: Combat Evolved for the...
Wednesday5th Jun 2024
News Halo Infinite's New Update Adds Handy Feature From Master Chief Collection
The Match Composer returns
343 Industries has today launched its Tenrai IV update for Halo Infinite and it comes with all sorts of new content and features. First of all, is the new Match Composer - a feature players of Halo: The Master Chief Collection will already be familiar with. This allows Spartans to choose which game modes "they would (or...
Monday27th May 2024
Talking Point If Halo Infinite Is Finished, Where Should The Franchise Go From Here?
Figuring out a sequel to infinity
It feels like a long time since we first started talking about Halo Infinite, doesn't it? That's probably because despite the game only launching in late 2021, Xbox actually unveiled Infinite during its E3 showcase in mid-2018 - more than three years before the game ever released. The thing is, we're now almost...
Wednesday22nd May 2024
News 343 Adds 'COD Zombies Mode' Into Matchmaking On Halo Infinite
"Survive the Undead arrives in the Combat Workshop today!"
Core development on Halo Infinite seems to be wrapping up these days, but that isn't stopping some pretty amazing-looking Forge creations from being made. Earlier this month, 'The Forge Falcons' made a Call of Duty Z
Friday10th May 2024
News Xbox's New 'This Is Halo' Trailer Summarises 343's Journey With Halo Infinite
Is this the end for Infinite?
We feel a bit like we've woken up in a strange alternate universe this week with everything going on, and this morning, 343 Industries isn't helping us shake that feeling. The team has just dropped what feels like a launch trailer for Halo Infinite - two and a half years after the game's launch. Okay, so, it's not...
Wednesday1st May 2024
News Halo Infinite's Latest Update Adds New In-Game Currency
Spartan points and the new exchange shop arrive
343's latest title Halo Infinite has just rolled out its new update 'Banished Operations', and it comes loaded with new content, bug fixes, several new features as well as new in-game currency and an Exchange shop. This new form of currency is called "Spartan Points" (SP) and can be earned by...
Saturday30th Mar 2024
Talking Point Xbox Fans, Are You Still Enjoying Halo Infinite In 2024?
Or have you lost interest in it?
We're now almost two and a half years into the lifespan of Halo Infinite, and it's safe to say it's been a bumpy ride since the game's fall 2021 launch. We had a super solid game on our hands on day one, before the community grew increasingly tired from a lack of updates - but eventually 343 turned things around and...
Friday22nd Mar 2024
Poll So, What Did You Think Of The Halo TV Show's Season 2 Finale?
Let us know, Spartan
Well, the fight isn't over for Master Chief yet, but season two of Paramount's Halo TV Show has officially concluded. After some high and low points throughout the season, the finale was rather action-packed from start to finish. The season finally got to this pivotal episode - setting the scene for a third season. While we...
Wednesday20th Mar 2024
News Halo Infinite Refreshes Squad Battles With Six New Community Maps
Released alongside Content Update 31
In case you missed it, there's a new content update available for Halo Infinite multiplayer. It includes a networking overhaul, easy anti-cheat, and much more. As part of this, 343 Industries is also doing a Squad Battle map refresh - adding six new community maps from some of the most talented Forgers. Here's...
Saturday16th Mar 2024
News Halo TV Showrunner Admits Budget Limited Fall Of Reach Screen Time
The team "couldn't afford" to spend more episodes on it
The second season of the Halo TV series has had some interesting moments, but many questions (and plenty of theories) were raised when the Fall of Reach (simply titled 'Reach' in the show) was limited to just a single episode. Now, in this week's Xbox podcast, the show's executive producer and...
Friday8th Mar 2024
News 'Red Vs. Blue' Halo Web Series Company Rooster Teeth Shutting Down
The final season of the show airs later this year
It's Master Chief's birthday this week, but unfortunately, there's some sad news for fans of the long-running Halo machinima Red vs. Blue. Not only is the final season of the web series arriving in 2024, but it's now also been revealed the company behind it, Rooster Teeth, is being shut down by...
Tuesday5th Mar 2024
News Halo Infinite's Latest Update Refreshes 'Husky Raid' Playlist & Adds Free 20-Tier Pass
"Dive into the cybernetic grid"
Halo Infinite is still rolling out regular content updates for its multiplayer component and the latest event 'Cyber Showdown III' lands today. This new update, which is live until April 2, gives Spartans access to a free 20-tier Operation Pass. This includes new unlocks like armor coating, visors, new charms,...
Saturday2nd Mar 2024
Poll What Did You Think Of The Halo TV Show's Latest Episode? (S2, E5)
Kwan and Laera save the day
Paramount's second season of the Halo series is well underway, and this week episode five aired. We now know most of the main cast in the show have managed to survive the Covenant's invasion of Reach. While we won't go into any major details, the latest episode eventually slowed things down with far less action. John and...
Friday23rd Feb 2024
Random Halo TV Show's Latest Episode Pays Respect To OG Xbox
Here's a look
In case you missed it, Halo's fourth episode of Season 2 aired this week, and in one segment in the episode, fans have spotted a neat little Easter egg paying respects to the series' video game history. Early on in this episode at the beginning of the Covenant invasion of Reach, Master Chief and Corporal Perez stumble across an...
Poll Are You Enjoying Season 2 Of The Halo TV Show?
We've reached the halfway mark, Chief
We're now halfway through the second season of Paramount's Halo series with Episode 4 of Season 2 airing yesterday. Leading into this episode, there was a lot of excitement about the Covenant's invasion of Reach finally getting underway. So we're curious to know at this point what everyone here on Pure Xbox...
Thursday22nd Feb 2024
News Forge Creators Plan To 'Bring The Helldivers 2 Experience' To Halo Infinite
"Prepare to step feet first into hell"
Helldivers 2 is taking the gaming world by storm at the moment, but unfortunately it's not out on Xbox - despite Phil Spencer's wish to see it on the platform. The co-op shooter is proving very popular, and so, a group of Forge creators seem to be taking it upon themselves to build something similar in
Wednesday21st Feb 2024
News Halo Infinite's Firefight Mode Brings Five Additional Maps Into Rotation
Loads of new firefights to be had!
Halo Infinite recently added a new variation of Firefight into its multiplayer mix — dubbed Firefight: King of the Hill — and the new mode has just received five new maps as part of a playlist refresh. Existing Halo Infinite maps Breaker, Cliffhanger, Fragmentation, Highpower and Scarr are now live and...
Monday19th Feb 2024
News 343 Devs Pitched '20-30 Game Ideas Over 12 Years', Including New ODST Spin-Off
Ah, what could have been
Halo studio 343 Industries has been heavily focused on Infinite in recent years, as Microsoft attempted to breathe new life into the series after the bumpy ride that was Halo 5. While we very much enjoyed the team's 2021 release, it sounds like we could have seen a lot of different Halo styles in recent years if 343 and Xbox...
Thursday15th Feb 2024
News 343 Drops First Halo: Master Chief Collection Update Since July
When the team starting to wind down development
343 Industries has just dropped another Halo: The Master Chief Collection update - the first since July 2023 when the team shared an end of development message with its employees. This new patch is only a minor update for the game across Xbox and PC, but it does show that the team
Wednesday14th Feb 2024
News Halo Infinite Refreshes Big Team Battle With Five New Community Maps
Here's a first look
343 Industries has this week refreshed the Halo Infinite Big Team Battle multiplayer mode with five new community-made maps. This "nearly" doubles the total map pool, giving Spartans a good mix of vehicular combat and on-foot firefights. Some of these maps might even look familiar. Here's exactly what's featured in this latest...
Tuesday13th Feb 2024
News Halo TV Show Master Chief Actor Reveals Why Cortana Looks Different In Season 2
The new showrunner played a part
Paramount's second season of the Halo The Series is now streaming, and if you've been wondering why Cortana looks different this time around, Master Chief's actor Pablo Schreiber has shed some light on this change. While Cortana's original live-action model didn't go down so well with some fans in the first season,...
Wednesday7th Feb 2024
News 343 Hires New Art Director To Lead 'A Very Exciting New Era' For Halo
"I am incredibly proud to join 343 Industries"
Halo developer 343 Industries appears to making moves for its next major release. Following on from hints last month at an 'unannounced' project being in the works, the team has hired a brand-new art director to lead the series "into a very exciting new era". The news comes from LinkedIn, where former...
News Halo TV Showrunner Describes Season 2 As 'Grittier, More Grounded, More Visceral Ride'
Kiki Wolfkill: "It's our job to step up and do the best we can"
We've already heard one of the Halo TV Show's new actors talk up Season 2 - calling it the Halo he "wanted to see", but if you still aren't convinced, some higher-ups working on Paramount's hit series have also chimed in. Speaking to GamesRadar+ again, the show's executive producer and...
News Halo TV Show Actor Says Season 2 Is A Great Time To 'Jump In'
It "takes it more in a direction like the games"
Season 2 of Halo on Paramount Plus kicks off this week and so far the critic reception has gone down pretty well. If you are wondering whether now is the time to jump in or not, one of the newcomers to the show's cast thinks it's the perfect time. When asked by GamesRadar+ if fans should hop straight...