As a seasoned gamer with decades of experience under my belt, I can’t help but feel a sense of relief and anticipation at the news that future Halo games will be developed on Unreal Engine 5. The struggles with Slipspace during the development of Halo Infinite were all too real for many players like myself who eagerly awaited the next installment in this iconic franchise.
2021’s Halo Infinite, unlike its predecessors in the Halo series, utilizes an exclusive engine named Slipspace, developed by 343 Industries. This custom-made engine was crafted to blend the semi-open world structure with the traditional Halo gaming experience that fans are accustomed to. While Slipspace largely achieved its intended goals, it posed numerous challenges during the development of Halo Infinite. The engine, compared to contemporary software, proved challenging to work with due to certain outdated coding toolsets it employed. Moreover, 343 Industries’ heavy reliance on external contract workers added complexity, as each new hire needed training to use Slipspace effectively.
343 Industries encountered significant hurdles due to the troubles with the Slipspace Engine and a revolving door of contract workers, which led to substantial delays in the development process for Halo Infinite. Upon release, the game lacked several multiplayer features typical of the Halo series, such as split-screen co-op. While some of these elements were later added through updates, the slow pace of post-launch support caused a decline in player count and overall opinion about the game. To address this problem, Microsoft has decided to develop all future Halo titles on Unreal Engine 5 moving forward. This change for Xbox’s premier franchise could signal other first-party studios under Microsoft to transition to UE5 as well.
More Microsoft First-Party Games Could Follow Halo Infinite’s Footsteps By Shifting to Unreal Engine
Many Xbox Games Already Run on Unreal Engine
Microsoft has been utilizing Unreal Engine for many of its exclusive games, with titles like “Sea of Thieves”, “Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2”, “Gears 5”, and “Grounded” already using it. Furthermore, upcoming first-party releases such as the next “Halo” game, along with games like “Clockwork Revolution” by InExile, the reboot of “Perfect Dark” by The Initiative, and “South of Midnight” by Compulsion Games, are also leveraging Unreal Engine 5.
A Significant Amount of Microsoft’s First-Party Studios Use Proprietary Engines
Despite creating numerous games using UE5, Xbox continues to operate and hold rights for several exclusive game engines. For example, idTech, developed by Microsoft’s subsidiary id Software, serves as the primary engine in games like Doom Eternal and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle published by Bethesda Softworks. Other titles such as Starfield, Fallout 76, and those from Bethesda Game Studios run on the Creation Engine, while The Elder Scrolls Online uses HeroEngine. ForzaTech, known for powering both the Forza series and the 2025 Fable reboot, is another engine owned by Microsoft. Additionally, the IW engine used in Call of Duty is also owned by the company.
Doubling Down on Unreal Engine 5 Could Be Beneficial for Xbox in Various Ways
In Xbox’s first-party studios, various engines are used, and there’s a chance that Microsoft might decide to unify these engines and primarily focus on the Unreal Engine. This could simplify development for all Microsoft developers since they would use the same engine. This unity could facilitate more frequent collaboration among them, potentially speeding up the release of Xbox’s first-party games.
Shifting towards Unreal Engine more extensively could offer Microsoft the opportunity to hire freelance workers more regularly, as they often have experience with well-known engines such as UE. Although it’s improbable that Xbox will abandon all its proprietary engines entirely, encouraging their first-party studios to use UE5 might help Microsoft avoid scenarios like the problematic development of Halo Infinite with Slipspace in the future.
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2024-10-15 00:34