Halo Studios, formerly known as 343 Industries, was working on Halo Infinite 2 before the development team switched over to Unreal Engine, based on the latest rumor.
Content creator Reb Gaming, who has previously shared plenty of inside information on Halo Infinite and future projects, has shared that Halo Studios was working on Halo Infinite 2 before the development team switched over to Unreal Engine. This information was shared with them by a former developer at the studio who had previously shared reports regarding the Halo Infinite campaign. They revealed to the content creator that Halo Studios’ new leadership drastically changed the course of the franchise’s future.
Based on Rebs Gaming’s information, rignt after Halo Infinite was released in December, 2021, 343 Industries’ campaign development team began working on Halo Infinite 2 using the Slipspace Engine. Their source said that the team had moved right over to Halo Infinite 2 and started working on the project. They had high hopes for the game, and the gameplay was in good shape. They mentioned that team could have done a good job with the sequel. However, plans completely changed when new leadership took over 343 Industries in September, 2022. They quickly decided to switch to Unreal Engine for future Halo titles and canceled the Halo Infinite 2 project.
After Halo Infinite 2 was canceled, 343 Industries’ creative team spent a few months learning Unreal Engine 5 to prepare for the next project. This lasted until January, 2023, when Microsoft laid off a significant amount of the studio’s employees, including the entire creative team. The content creator’s source was among those who were laid off before Halo Studios confirmed its plans for future Halo games, so they don’t know if Halo Infinite 2 is being developed in Unreal Engine 5. However, what they are sure about is that the campaign team never felt supported by their new leadership. Like with the old leadership, the campaign team still felt trapped in a bubble without studio-wide collaboration and clarity about what was happening at the studio, and plans for the future.
Rebs Gaming’s source told him that when the new leadership took over, it somehow enabled more clarity into what was actually happening. The campaign team never felt supported, and the impression was that the new leadership would outsource campaign content. The content creator mentioned that their source’s claim regarding outsourcing campaign content is supported by the fact that Halo Studios has not formed a campaign team almost two years after the original team was laid off, which is evident on LinkedIn and their job site.
The content creator also discussed the canceled battle royale mode for Halo Infinite, codenamed Project Tatanka. He said that after Halo Studios switched over to Unreal Engine, it was rebranded into Echer as its first Unreal Engine project. He further mentioned receiving new information that indicates Project Echer still exists, at least as a code name for a Halo game that is currently in development.
