The Halo franchise has endured a tumultuous decade under the stewardship of 343 Industries – the studio project created to shepherd the series following Bungie’s split with Microsoft. While 343 has delivered new Halo entries and remasters, it’s fair to say that it’s been a rough ride, with the late announcement of Halo Infinite and questions about the game’s content and delivery. However, things are changing. Yes, maybe. 343 Industries is now Halo Studio, with 343’s bespoke Slipspace engine powered by Unreal Engine 5. The ‘Project Foundry’ demo gives us a glimpse of what’s to come – and we’re hopeful.
It’s the change to Unreal Engine 5 that really caught our attention as the series has used its technology for decades. Indeed, some of the code within Slipspace’s existing 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 we can expect a seismic shift of the world in production and development.
Maybe that’s for the best. Slipspace got off to a great start with the first trailer for the Halo Infinite engine, which has legitimate questions about how the technology will evolve beyond the Xbox One and Xbox Series generations. 343 was brought over to cross-gen, but it’s safe to say that most of the original scene didn’t make it into the final game – in fact, only one of the featured biomes made it into the game. ships.
By switching to Unreal Engine 5, Halo Studio benefits in several ways. It has access to the most up-to-date product that measures up to whatever hardware is required of it. It also has access to the amazing engine work done by the partner studio, The Coalition, one of the most popular technology experts. And that will be necessary, we remember the many problems that the engine has – especially on the PC side. Slipspace’s shortcomings – such as uneven lighting, shadow quality and detail level can and should be addressed by UE5’s Lumen and Nanite. There are productivity benefits as well. Microsoft’s controversial approach to contractors is difficult when working with custom engines, while familiarity with UE5 should come in handy in this area.
While access to key rendering features like Lumen, Nanite and transparent shadow maps should be a game changer for Halo Studio, there are other benefits as well. While the player presentation of Halo 5 was first class, something went wrong with Halo Infinite, where the players in the game looked very unappealing. The switch to UE5 brings Metahuman technology and ways forward for more custom solutions, with the amazing Hellblade 2 providing an example of what’s possible there.
However, there are challenges ahead. Unreal Engine 5 has important issues, especially on PC, where the collection of shaders and smoothing is not very visible – even with the biggest, mega-budget triple-A. UE5 is also quite heavy on the CPU, especially when using ray tracing features – and they still play out in the Project Foundry game. There may be a temptation to use the stock Unreal Engine effects, many of which may conflict with the visual appeal of the Halo games. However, at least, the tools are there and on the PC side, there is support for the latest RT, frame rate and upscaling technology – areas where Halo Infinite really lets down the side.
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All of this leads us to Project Foundry’s tech demo, which reproduces classic Halo images as viewed through the lens of UE5. Where Slipstream’s lighting felt basic, Lumen is a game-changer, with a natural indirect look with light that surrounds characters and surfaces more accurately. The impression is real thanks to the RT, as seen in the King’s visor, which not only shows the “horns” of his helmet, but also the environment around him. Lumen’s ability to handle shadow light from multiple light sources can also pair well with Halo’s atmospheric lighting, enhancing atmosphere and mood.
Nanite micro-geometry can completely eliminate pop-in, and Project Foundry’s graphics look stable and stable, while there is room for increased environment – the caveat is that the current UE5 titles those with Halo-style “open worlds” are riddled with distractions. stuttering, something that should not be part of any upcoming game in the series. Also, we hope to see a pollination of UE5 options and best practices across the stable of Microsoft studios – with all eyes on The Coalition’s Gears: E-Day for example.
All of which brings us to the big question of cross-platform, something we tried to answer in a Eurogamer post earlier this week. The Project Foundry demo – and indeed everything shown to developer testers in the surrounding video – is presented as quintessential Halo. With more than 20 years or so under its belt, there’s probably an argument that porting the series to all systems that can support it should be accompanied by a reboot of some description. We don’t know, but with so many Halo projects going on, a multi-platform might make sense for Microsoft and UE5 certainly helps there.
Could Slipspace’s emerging technology come to PS5? Well, it wouldn’t be more of a challenge than some of the bespoke engines that ran the multiplayer and if Halo Infinite (or even the multiplayer part) were to come to PS5, Halo Studio would probably port the tech to PS5 however. Whatever happens with Halo Studio looks like a serious investment – one that Microsoft will likely want to make a big return on.
No matter what shape or form projects take, we are committed to serving the team. The past few years have been challenging for developers and a bold strategy was needed – and this is it. Halo deserves its comeback, it becomes relevant and interesting again. And we can only hope that this includes embracing the importance of the campaign – in both single-player and co-op modes – as well as the many live services that Infinite has strived to be. The reset button has been pressed and we look forward to what the future holds.
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