It's been a pretty rough time for Halo since Halo Infinite launched, with fans criticizing its microtransaction-filled launch, and lamenting the cut content that was previously promised. While the developers at 343 Studios have, to an extent, managed to pull it back and regain some of the fanbase's trust again, it's hard not to be constantly reminded of Infinite's missed potential. Of course, one solution to this problem is to sweep those failures under the rug, rebrand, and move in a new direction.

It seems like 343 Studios, now rebranded as Halo Studios, has decided to do exactly that. It is completely revamping Halo and its foundations by ditching the Slipspace Engine and shifting to Unreal Engine 5. While many may shrug at the announcement, it means that big changes are coming to the franchise, and not necessarily for the better.

UE5 Looks Great, But Robs Halo Of Its Identity

It Makes It Look Like Every Other UE5 Game

The announcement that 343 was rebranding itself as Halo Studios came in a video titled "A New Dawn" (via the Halo YouTube channel) which featured a number of its developers and the Studio Head Pierre Hintze discussing how the change to Unreal Engine 5 is a positive one. It also showcased the Foundry, a research project in which developers at Halo Studios are creating locations in Unreal Engine 5 to test what future Halo games could look like. Of course, it would be foolish to say that the footage shown looked bad, because, especially when compared to other Halo games, it absolutely did not.

However, this move to Unreal Engine 5 completely robs Halo of its visual identity by making it look exactly like every other Unreal Engine 5 game, although somehow, slightly worse. The only aspect that didn't resemble the cookie-cutter realistic look that Unreal Engine 5 is capable of is Master Chief himself, who still looks a little cartooney. It's a shame, as, at least from the footage that has been shown off so far, this not only looks bland and uninspired - even the Flood-infested Blightlands looks generic - but also worse than other Unreal Engine 5 games such as Black Myth: Wukong.

Halo's Switch Sounds Like Desperation More Than Innovation

It's More About Moving Away From Infinite's Failures

Of course, all of this is to move further away from Halo Infinite's failures, a game that was roasted by fans and pro streamers when it first launched due to its buggy, lackluster state. Pierre Hintze himself even states in the "New Dawn" video that "Halo Infinite was the last remnant of how we made Halo games in the past," implying that the studio wants to move as far away from that design model as possible. That's understandable, but a shift to UE5 doesn't strictly address the failings of Infinite other than the criticisms that it didn't look next-gen enough.

A shift to UE5 doesn't strictly address the failings of Infinite other than the criticisms that it didn't look next-gen enough.

There are benefits to switching to UE5 beyond the visuals, such as how it'll help onboard new developers who are already familiar with the software, and potentially reduce development time, as Halo Studios won't have to keep developing its own in-house engine. Unlike with Halo Infinite, which saw meaningful content cut from the game, this shift could lead to less content being removed. However, all of this is speculative, which is ultimately what the "New Dawn" video is about, as the talking heads just discuss the potential of Halo, as opposed to anything concrete coming from the studio.

Hopefully, the change to UE5 restores Halo to its former glory when it was under the stewardship of Bungie, and doesn't just rob it of its identity while making it a buggy mess, something that is prevalent in Unreal Engine 5 games. However, if it's just that it has more realistic-looking foliage and snow - which the "New Dawn" video implies - then that will be immensely disappointing. Halo has the potential to be great, but UE5 isn't necessarily the way of getting it there.

Source: YouTube/Halo