At the conclusion of the 2024 Halo World Championships, 343 Industries unveiled significant announcements regarding the future of Halo. The studio is undergoing a rebranding to Halo Studios, and forthcoming Halo titles will be developed using Unreal Engine 5 instead of the Slipstream Engine. This shift has sparked renewed speculation about the possibility of Halo games appearing on the PlayStation 5. Industry experts suggest that this change will simplify the process of porting Halo games.
"From a multi-platform development standpoint, transitioning to Unreal Engine 5 would undoubtedly be more straightforward for the developer compared to porting across the existing Slipspace engine," commented Digital Foundry's Rich Leadbetter via Eurogamer. "It makes sense that an engine designed for multiple platforms would be easier to manage than technology originally built for Xbox and PC."
Earlier this year, The Verge reported that Microsoft was contemplating bringing more games to the PlayStation 5, including Halo. Although Halo is a flagship Xbox franchise, cross-platform releases have demonstrated their value for Microsoft. Sea of Thieves found a fresh audience on PS5, and Bethesda has plans to release Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on the console after a brief exclusivity period on Xbox Series X|S.
While adopting Unreal Engine 5 could facilitate more titles being ported to PS5, this likely wasn't the primary motivation behind the switch. Unreal Engine 5 is extensively utilized in the video game industry, and there are more programmers proficient in this engine than those familiar with Slipstream Engine. This means new recruits to Halo Studios should be able to dive into their projects without the need for retraining.
Halo Studios has not yet announced a release date for the next Halo game, but the 25th anniversary of Halo: Combat Evolved is just two years away. Microsoft has hinted at plans to commemorate this milestone in 2026, which coincides with the 25th anniversary of the original Xbox. For now, all we can do is speculate whether this celebration will include a new Halo game.
