343 Industries becomes Halo Studios and confirms switch to Unreal engine: 'The Halo franchise in its original form was a graphics showpiece, it was the best of class... and that is what Halo needs again'

Microsoft has not confirmed the report. Earlier in the year, it was reported by 343 Industries that they were planning to switch to Unreal Engine from Slipcase. Now it's official. With the six-and-a-half-minute mash note to Unreal embedded above, 343 Industries has left behind Slipcase as well as the name 343 Industries, officially rebranding as Halo Studios for future projects.

The developers are confident in Unreal's improvements. Pierre Hintze, VP and head of the studio, says that Halo Infinite is the last vestige of the way we used to make Halo games. "That was our formula and what we're now doing, we're modifying the recipe."

Three landscapes were created as part Project Foundry. Lead FX artist Daniel Henley describes it as "an effort to demonstrate how far we can push Unreal 5." He continues, "The original Halo series was a graphics showpiece, it was the best in class." Halo was that when it was first released, and that's exactly what Halo should be again.

The report stated that at least 95 employees had been laid off and that there was conflict within the studio between those that wanted to switch to Unreal and those that were happy to stay with Slipcase. After the renaming, Halo Studios is now hiring again. Microsoft's career site currently has positions advertised for a creative Director, lead game systems designer and senior technical designer.