Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries is reportedly ditching its current Slipspace Engine in favour of using Epic’s Unreal Engine. No official statement was provided by the studio or Microsoft yet, though a new report claims that the switch is happening but no reason was given for this sudden development change. It could be related to the lead engineer of the Slipspace Engine leaving the company last month.
Halo Infinite launched back in December 2021 and received mostly positive reviews, with many praising its strong single-player campaign and free-to-play multiplayer mode. However, it has since gone through turbulent post-launch phases, with the recent cancellation of its promised local co-op coming as a particularly devastating blow to fans. Many veterans at 343 Industries have since left the company, leading to a big leadership restructuring.
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According to journalist Jeremy Penter, 343 Industries is now changing its engine from Slipspace to Unreal Engine. “I can only confirm that many sources are saying this and very clear that it’s already been decided and Halo is for sure switching to Unreal,” said Penter in a recent tweet.
It’s quite rare for a studio to change engines during a game’s development, let alone post-launch. This might be attributed to some unknown difficulties working on the Slipspace engine which might be hindering some development efforts at the studio. It could also explain the slow rollout of post-launch support and updates. An engine change, especially if the team finds it easier to use, is welcomed if it means getting things back on track for Halo Infinite.
343 Industries and Microsoft have yet to comment on this report, though we should hear from the companies fairly soon if this news is accurate.
In related news, a menu glitch on Halo Infinite actually allows players to play local co-op on Xbox Series X/S. It’s also completely functional, meaning it was once intended to be added into the game by the developers but was never officially implemented.
Halo Infinite is now available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Source: Jeremy Penter
