Unreal Engine 5 Is Saving Halo On Multiple Fronts, Including Having A Hand In Scrapping The Sequel To One Of The Franchise’s Worst Games

Halo Infinite was a game with lofty promises, from a sprawling open world to improved combat mechanics. Yet, it quickly became clear to everyone that the game was, to put it lightly, yet another mishandled entry in the once-legendary franchise.

Leaving its failure behind, however, Halo Studios is now going back to the drawing board while shifting from the Slipspace Engine to Unreal Engine 5, hoping to rebuild what was lost. But major transitions like these come with significant consequences, and for our money, one of the most notable is the cancellation of Halo Infinite’s sequel.

If we’re being honest, Halo Studios’ decision to switch to Unreal Engine 5 isn’t something many people may have seen coming, especially considering how much money was poured into building Slipspace Engine. But it’s also no news at this point that Slipspace did have some severe technical limitations, bugs, and difficulties with all the updates Infinite was poised to receive. All of it, in the end, only hamstrung the game’s ability to meet the franchise’s standards.

With Unreal Engine 5, the studio seems to be finally unshackling itself from the constraints of its own engine, which signals a much-needed technical and creative refresh. That being said, however, the decision to move away from the original engine seems to have also resulted in the scrapping of Infinite’s direct sequel.

According to the YouTube channel Rebs Gaming, the sequel was already in development before significant layoffs hit 343 Industries earlier this year, and new plans were put in place. In the end, the sequel, originally being built using the old engine, was caught in the crossfire of these layoffs and the subsequent shift to the new engine.

Also, very little is known about the direction this game was taking, with only speculation that it would have continued the narrative threads left dangling by Infinite. But with its alleged cancellation, all signs point to a new beginning for the franchise as a whole.

Now, we must acknowledge the possibility that the next game could actually evolve into Infinite 2, but at the same time, there’s also the potential for a complete reboot, so everything’s muddled up at the moment.

At the end of the day, though, all this simply underscores the studio’s realization that its past missteps must not define the future. After all, a new foundation with UE5 offers the studio a chance to correct those mistakes and explore new horizons.

Now, as we look ahead to the next campaign, one thing seems inevitable: the Endless are poised to become the primary antagonists facing Master Chief, but only depending on how Infinite‘s storyline is treated going forward. Plus, aside from that little cliffhanger the game left for us, much of the series’ future remains uncertain.

This uncertainty does, however, present the team with an opportunity to reinvent what we think a Halo campaign should be like, all while capitalizing on UE5’s powerful tools to create environments and scenarios that were previously unimaginable.

Picture this: instead of the familiar, often repetitive biomes from Infinite, we might see richly detailed, varied landscapes—from a hellish planet taken over entirely by the Flood to barren deserts and surreal, otherworldly environments.

Not to mention, early tests with Project Foundry—an internal research initiative—have already shown that the next game could potentially feature a lot more diverse and visually striking worlds, more so than anything we’ve seen before with the series, and offer the kind of immersive environments that can easily reignite people’s interest.

So, whether through intricate character development, fresh world-building, visual polish, or more dynamic gameplay, the studio now has the creative freedom to reimagine what a campaign in this series can be. Again, after what happened in Infinite, perhaps a clean slate is for the best.

But, with all that said, though, what are your thoughts on Halo’s recent announcements? Are you excited to see how the transition to Unreal Engine 5 plays out? Let us know in the comments below.