The Halo community has witnessed a major shift. Last night, 343 Industries announced a complete move to Unreal Engine 5 and a rebrand to Halo Studios. Along with the announcement came a fresh technical demo video that showcases the new engine’s capabilities and hints at an expanded future for the franchise.
Halo Studios is already pursuing multiple franchise projects under the new banner. The switch to the latest engine is framed as a means to let the team concentrate more on gameplay than on behind‑the‑scenes technology, with the promise of shorter development cycles and easier recruitment as the studio scales up its ambitions.
To study the new toolset, the creators produced the Foundry project. It serves as both an impressive tech demonstration and a practical training resource, intended to guide future developments and accelerate onboarding for new developers joining the effort.
The accompanying video demonstration offers a hands‑on look at how the engine handles lighting, geometry, and real‑time rendering in environments that echo familiar Halo aesthetics, illustrating what the studio plans to achieve with Foundry and Unreal Engine 5.
Halo Studios is now poised to begin work on a new project, and public updates are expected to be limited for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, Halo Infinite will continue to receive support, including the addition of a third‑person mode that was recently announced for the shooter.
Unusual PC builds have gone viral on the internet.
The move signals a broader shift in the way Halo content is developed, emphasizing modern tooling, faster iteration, and a refreshed creative trajectory for the franchise.