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 remains shrouded in mystery for now, but what we do know is that Halo is still very much Xbox's baby, and the team is throwing its weight behind what sounds like huge revival for the series.
Okay, revival might be pushing it a bit - Halo Infinite is still very much here and seeing chunky updates even in 2024. And yet, with that game's promotional cycle starting way back in 2018, it does feel like Infinite has dragged its feet for a good while here. Next year, it'll have been a whole decade since Halo 5 came and went, so yeah, it's safe to say Infinite has been around for a little while now as the 'new' Halo game - and we do feel ready to move on!
It's also no secret that the broader gaming community has perhaps not been as high on Infinite as us here at Pure Xbox. We can admit its failings, but we did score the title a 9/10 on day one and have enjoyed lots of what the team has brought to the title since release. Clearly though, there's improvement to be made in how the studio produces Halo content on Xbox, and this big old UE5 switcheroo is looking like it'll provide just that opportunity.
We're liking what we're hearing about it all so far, too. Multiple smaller projects on a more efficient game engine? That sounds great. "Changing the recipe" on how Halo is made? Bold, but we do think the formula is ready for a shake up. To top it off, this 'Halo Foundry' demonstration they've shown off this week looks great from a visual perspective - the tone seems to be there, which is always a good starting point for anything Halo.
We are curious to see how much of the old Halo DNA moves over, though. Will they stick to an open-world structure when the time comes for the next mainline campaign? Will the game feel like modern Halo, classic Halo, a bit of both or something entirely new? We have a lot of questions, but it's an exciting time to be a fan of the series in any case. There are also those rumours that a remake of Halo: Combat Evolved might be on the cards over at Team Green - could this be one of Halo Studios' multiple UE5 projects? That's not been confirmed yet, but it's entirely plausible as the team moves to a new era for the franchise.
Microsoft's flagship gaming IP has struggled to maintain its top dog status since the departure of Bungie after Halo: Reach, and right there in this 'New Dawn' post, the team says that this is a brand-new chapter for the franchise after the 343i era. We're feeling very positive on this at the outset - a new Halo era is about to be born, and we reckon it's time for the series to shine once again on Unreal Engine 5.
Come on then, who's hyped for the future of Halo? Go ahead and add to the discussion down below!
Comments 29
I hope they can figure out how to make it actually run at 60fps.
Edit: I say that because it sure seems like UE5 can’t do decent frame rates.
I think there is a strong likelihood that the image of Master Chief in his Combat Evolved armour is take from the remaster of Combat Evolved.
I think there is an even stronger likelihood that the remaster will also release on the PlayStation. Possibly even day one too. I think part of the rebranding of 343i is to mark a difference on approach for Halo, and that begins with PlayStation at the fore...
Halo Infinite is incredible. The next Halo should be a lot like that game.
I am a little nervous about the UE5 switch though. Fingers crossed that it goes smoothly.
@Fiendish-Beaver May I know on what you base thag on? Just a hunch? I think the core Xbox titles that belong to the brand aren't coming to PlayStation.
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Just bring it on.
More BS that's years away the games industry is just future promises nothing right now!
@SodaPop6548 Fortnite runs on UE5 and it's fast, but 60fps was probably the focus right out of the gate.
Part of the reason AAA UE5 games haven't been running at 60fps is because developers aren't targeting 60fps on console. Developers are pushing visual fidelity and effects for 30fps and then shoehorning 60fps modes.
Plus, we haven't seen a UE 5.4 game release yet.
Digital Foundry did a test-case analysis a while back on UE 5.4 using the Matrix Demo on PC and found that lower-spec CPUs got like a 50% boost in performance over the previous versions of the engine due to the multi-threaded rendering pipeline that was added to that particular version. That bodes well for consoles.
UE 5.5 does some even more impressive things with Lumen and was recently shown off running on a PS5 - and running pretty well for a tech demo (the person doing the presentation only said "PlayStation 5" and made no mention if it was a PlayStation 5 Pro).
Instead of the overhyped stutter engine 5 with sh1tty framedrops and stutter here and there, i would like the new Halo to be developed using newest iteration of id tech engine. But yeah not gonna happen
Dont get me wrong, this is hopefully good news and Im delighted "multiple" projects are coming...
However it bothers me that this means there nothing new from Halo for this gen. Its wild to me that fans can make things like a Helldivers clone in Forge and 343... sorry "Halo Studios"... needs to shift to an entirely new engine before getting anything else for X/S
Oh great another game moved to the Toyota Camry of game engines. Nothing special here and the engine gets the job done sure. Just like the ole reliable Camry for each generation. A bespoke purpose built game engine will always be better for a game it is built for. Just like a bespoke sports car will beat a sports car built on a common platform which has to accommodate all situations. I wish Microsoft supported its own engines and pushed that out to the world. Instead of copying everyone else and taking the cheapest path which is using a common class game engine for all.
@endlessleep Unreal Engine [insert version] is always the most hyped because the company behind it does great advertising. Its popular because its cheap to lease or use the engine. Companies don't want to develop their own bespoke engines for their unique titles. With as many skilled developers and engineers that work at Microsoft, I'm surprised they wouldn't support their own ecosystem. But instead they have decided to go with the common class engine AKA unreal. Reminds me of the PS3/X360 days in which so many games ran on unreal.
Another MS DOA game.
@SodaPop6548 Unreal Engine can run games at a buttery smooth 60fps just fine, they don't even have to have that Unreal Engine look, just look at Hi-Fi Rush which ran at 60fps AND had a very unique graphical style.
But it HAS to be on developers to design around this from the beginning and not try and push graphical fidelity FIRST and then try and shoehorn it into a target frame rate last minute. The more practiced developers get with UE the more they will able to get out of it.
It is just a hunch, @Quickbeamx, and I don't pretend otherwise, but I come to that conclusion via a number of factors:
1. There have been persistent rumours that Halo is going to make the leap to PlayStation, and just because it hasn't happened yet does not mean that it won't.
2. Halo multiplayer needs an influx of players in order to thrive, just as happened with Sea of Thieves, and the easiest way to do that will be to release the game on the PlayStation.
3. The best place to start the Halo off on the PlayStation would be with either Infinite or Combat Evolved Remastered, and CE would be the best placed out of the two to garner interest because it is the first in the series, and the event taking place in Infinite are slightly confusing to those that have played all the others, let alone not played them at all.
4. These decisions are no longer being made at Xbox, and that needs to be remembered. It is for that reason that we are seeing games that could, or could have been, exclusive to the Xbox releasing on the PlayStation. It's the bean-counters at Microsoft that are now making these decisions, and that means nothing is off the table (as per the rumours). It's all about money, and there's much more of it to be made on the PlayStation bearing in mind that they will be buying it outright, and not playing it on the Game Pass.
In all honesty, I could be wildly off (and I'd prefer that to be the case), but I remain to be convinced that I am. The direction of travel is such that no game is out of the question, and as the install-base on the Xbox dwindles (in comparison to PlayStation), and with the spiralling costs involved in making a game, then it makes sound financial sense to release any game to as wider audience as possible, and I honestly don't think that Microsoft sees their future in the console business any longer, but rather in tapping into the largest player-bases, no matter where that might be...
More words from the Halo devs. I wish I could feel as positive about them as Mint Blitz, but I'll curb my enthusiasm for now.
Hoping for brilliance, excepting disappointment.
Awesome, so this means that Halo 7 will expect to be out in 2028, but delayed until 2030 with launch bugs, updated sometime between 2031-2033. Co-op and 60 fps not possible, unless there is a Playstation port. Then the sky is the limit!
It truly shines!
The open world structure I really, really, really enjoyed. It felt fresh and fun. Hopefully they keep going this way.
It be a risk (and I truly believe they really wanted to do this with Infinite) but going the way of live service game could also be interesting. Maybe even some aspects of a looter shooter bring some fresh take to the franchise too.
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Engine shmengine, they NEED to figure out how to nail the feel of the physics, gunplay, maps like halo 1-3. Which is what halo 4 to infinite severely lacked. I have verrrrrry little faith in the talent, respect or care for the people behind this studio.
@Real_game_passion I really felt halo 4 big team battle deathmatch the absolute best halo multiplayer experience I EVER had with halo. Played hundreds and hundreds of hours. Loved it. Only time actually craved to play any halo multiplayer every night.
This is coming from an original Xbox fan. Been with Xbox since day one.
Halo and gears is a baby yet Xbox is so rushed in killing the face of the franchise … Marcus renix and master chief in halo 5 … make Kate and the new gen for judgment series and odst for any spin offs
@GuyinPA75 open world was repetitive dull and not creative
@Quickbeamx I agree. The "flagship" or "tentpole" Xbox franchises, as in "born on Xbox" games like Halo, Gears, Forza, and Fable probably won't release on rival consoles. They're sort of the last games that help make up the identity of the Xbox platform, without them there would be even less incentive for anyone to buy an Xbox.
@SleeplessKnight gears was actually gonna be on PS3 too but microsoft bought exclusivity. I could easily see gears of war being on playstation
@Real_game_passion any reason you left out reach ?
@BacklogBrad it should be a lot like infinite in terms of what ?
@nomither6 Yes very early on, before the game was even revealed or anyone knew anything about it. However, most people associate Gears of War with Xbox, even though it was created by Epic.
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