looks like Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries Might drop its custom Slipspace engine for Unreal Engine.
This comes from journalist Jeremy Penter (thanks to VGC), who written yesterday (October 2), “I can only confirm that many sources are saying this, and it’s very clear that the decision has been made, Halo will definitely switch to Unreal Engine. I think it’s time for other switches behind the scenes, including people’s Leaving and their past issues. Unreal Engine is a good choice.”
It is not uncommon to switch engines if a developer finds that the engine is not performing well, such as when Kingdom Hearts 3 Switched from Square Enix’s then very bad lighting engine to Unreal Engine 4. Embarrassingly, this engine is designed to power the future of the Halo franchise, and if reports are true, apparently it won’t be doing it.
Halo Infinite has apparently had a rough time, being delayed by over a year and arriving last year lacking modes and features like campaign co-op and Forge. The roadmap outlines the arrival of Forge and the campaign collaboration this November, but even so, the split-screen collaboration, which is a staple of the series, has been canceled.
Infinite does have the biggest release in the franchise’s history, but inconsistent updates frustrate players, and mass staff departures don’t do the team’s workflow any favors.
There are rumors that Halo support developer Certain Affinity is working on a battle royale project, but who knows if that will be enough to restore player confidence in the online Halo scene. The rumors don’t mention whether the purported project will be developed in Slipspace, but with the 343’s move to Unreal Engine, it’s likely that the engine will be kept in future Halo projects.
