343 Industries, the developers of Halo Infinite, Halo 5: Guardians, and Halo 4, is reportedly ditching its in-house gaming engine in favor of Unreal Engine. 343's current engine is called Slipspace, and it was used to create all the studio's recent games, including Halo Infinite. There have been many problems, however, and it seems as though 343 Industries is making an attempt to simplify the process of creating its future content.
In fact, fans have become so frustrated by the state of Infinite that some have been calling for Microsoft to replace 343 as Halo's developer. In addition, the lead engineer of Slipspace has recently left 343 Industries, the latest in a long string of unfortunate events that have impacted the studio. With that in mind, gamers shouldn't be surprised to hear that 343 is debating a change to its process.
When Halo Infinite launched, many players were shocked by the lack of content. After the title had already been delayed for a year, popular features like Forge and co-op campaign were still missing. With the news that 343 may be abandoning Slipspace, some players have been wondering if Infinite's issues stemmed from the gaming engine. Now, according to VGC, these issues are being addressed by 343 with the adoption of Unreal Engine. The engine will likely reduce costs and improve workflow at 343, allowing the studio to produce better Halo content than with Slipstream. Indeed, given the loss of Halo developers at 343, the demand for more content, and the complications that come with operating an in-house game engine, Infinite and its successors will likely need the help of a simpler and more effective tools.
The news about 343 adopting Unreal Engine technology comes after the head of the studio has recently left, and the company has faced internal restructuring. And, while the studio has been trying to improve its latest title, the next Halo project will need to restore faith in the franchise. It may be that the advanced tools found in Unreal Engine 5 could be perfectly positioned to create future and more successful Halo titles.
In truth, however, the solution to 343 Industries' problem doesn't matter to many players. Rather, the state of the studio's latest title is of paramount importance. Whether 343 uses new tools or continues to create with its personal engine, Halo Infinite needs a reliable source of content in order to win fans back to its side. Though 343 has brought new modes, events, and co-op achievements to Halo Infinite, the title has still been lacking maps, weapons, and classic Halo features. Hopefully, Unreal Engine will allow 343 Industries to resolve issues and create successful future titles.
Halo Infinite is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: VGC
