The Halo franchise has endured a tumultuous decade under the direction of 343 Industries, the studio created specifically to push the series forward following Bungie's split from Microsoft. While 343 has delivered new Halo entries and remasters, it's fair to say it's been a bumpy ride, culminating in a late release of Halo Infinite and questions over the game's content and delivery. However, things are changing. Radically, perhaps. 343 Industries is now Halo Studio, while 343's custom Slipspace engine is making way for Unreal Engine 5. A 'Project Foundry' demo gives us an idea of the ambition ahead, and we're optimistic.
It's the move to Unreal Engine 5 that really caught our attention, as the series has used its own technology for decades. In fact, some of the code within the existing Slipspace technology is said to be up to 25 years old, dating back to the development of the original Halo: Combat Evolved for the OG Xbox, so perhaps we can expect a seismic shift in presentation and development .
Maybe that's for the best. Slipspace debuted in spectacular fashion with the initial trailer for the Halo Infinite engine, with legitimate questions about how the technology would scale across the Xbox One and Xbox Series generations. 343 was delivered cross-gen, but it's safe to say that the full scope of the original vision didn't make it into the final game; in fact, only one of the biomes demonstrated made it into the shipping game.
By switching to Unreal Engine 5, Halo Studio benefits in several ways. You have access to a state-of-the-art renderer that adapts to any hardware asked of it. You also have access to the incredible work on the engine done by sister studio, The Coalition, one of the recognized masters of this technology. And this will be necessary, considering the numerous problems that the engine has, especially on the PC side. Slipspace's limitations, such as unconvincing indirect lighting, shadow quality, and level of detail, could and should be resolved with UE5's Lumen and Nanite. There are also production advantages. Microsoft's controversial approach to contract workers is a challenge when working with custom engines, while familiarity with UE5 should be commonplace by now.
While access to key rendering features like Lumen, Nanite, and virtual shadow maps should be a game-changer for Halo Studio, there are other benefits as well. While Halo 5's character rendering was top-notch, something went very wrong with Halo Infinite, where the game's characters looked considerably less impressive. A move to UE5 brings with it Metahuman technology and paths to more custom solutions, with the amazing Hellblade 2 giving an example of what's possible there.
However, there are still challenges ahead. Unreal Engine 5 has major issues, especially on PC, where shader compilation and traverse stuttering never seem too far away, even on the most ambitious, mega-budget triple-A fare. UE5 is also CPU intensive, especially when using ray tracing features, and they are definitely at play in the Project Foundry footage. There may also be a temptation to use original Unreal Engine effects, many of which would be at odds with the visual aesthetic of the Halo games. Still, at least the tools are there and, on the PC side, there's support for the latest RT technologies, frame generation and upscaling, areas where Halo Infinite definitely disappointed.
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All of which brings us to Project Foundry's tech demo, which features classic Halo visuals seen through the lens of UE5. While Slipstream's lighting seemed pretty basic, Lumen is potentially a game-changer, with more natural-looking indirect light spilling around characters and surfaces in a much more authentic way. Reflections are more realistic thanks to RT, as seen on Master Chief's visor, which not only reflects the “horns” on his helmet, but also the environment around him. Lumen's ability to handle shadow casting from multiple light sources could also be a good match for Halo's atmospheric lighting, improving immersion and mood.
Nanite's microgeometry could eliminate pop-ups entirely, with Project Foundry footage looking stable and consistent, while there's room here for greater ambient density; the caveat is that current UE5 titles with Halo-style 'open worlds' are riddled with traversal. stuttering, something that should not be part of any future games in the series. Again, we expect to see a cross-pollination of UE5 customizations and best practices across Microsoft studios, with all eyes on The Coalition's Gears: E-Day as an example.
All of which brings us to the big cross-platform question, something we tried to address in a Eurogamer post earlier this week. Project Foundry's visuals, and indeed everything displayed on the developers' monitors within the surrounding video, are presented as quintessentially Halo. With over 20 years of history under its belt, perhaps there's an argument that porting the series to all systems that can support it should go hand in hand with a reboot of some description. We don't know, but with multiple Halo projects in development, cross-platform may make sense for Microsoft and UE5 is certainly an enabler there.
Could the outgoing Slipspace technology come to PS5? Well, it wouldn't be any more challenging than other custom engines that have been installed on multiple systems and if Halo Infinite (or even just the multiplayer component) comes to PS5, it's possible that Halo Studio would port the technology to PS5 anyway. Whatever is happening in Halo Studio seems like a serious investment, one that Microsoft would want to get the maximum return on.
Whatever form the projects take, we support the team. The last few years have been challenging for developers and a bold strategy was needed, and that's it. Halo deserves its return, becoming relevant and interesting again. And we just hope this includes embracing the importance of the campaign, both in single-player and co-op formats, as well as the large-scale live service offering that Infinite tried to be. The reset button has been pressed and we are truly looking forward to what the future holds.