The next entry in Xbox’s first person shooter series, Halo, has been in development since at least April, 2022, using Unreal Engine 5.
The LinkedIn profiles of Ian Slutz, Senior Character Systems Designer at 343 Industries, and Justin Dinges, former Art Director at 343 Industries, have revealed that the next title in the Halo series has been in development since at least April, 2022, using Unreal Engine 5.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about the next Halo game being in development, however. A recent job listing on Microsoft’s Careers portal revealed that 343 Industries was looking to hire a Principal Software Engineering Manager to join its team in order to build the next generation of games and experiences the Halo universe. Two other listings also mentioned the next generation of games set in 343 Industries’ sci-fi universe.
Additionally, during during Bitcast episode 269 on Seasoned Gaming, host Ains mentioned that development on a new Halo campaign was underway at 343 Industries. While he didn’t have anything specific to share, he said that this was part of the restructure that is building the next generation of Halo on Unreal Engine. Based on Ain’s estimate, the earliest one would expect to see the next Halo single-player campaign, outside of Firefight and other things the studio is currently doing in Halo Infinite, is a couple years from now, implying that the game is far from release. Going by the former Art Director’s LinkedIn profile, the project has been in active development since April, 2022, so this checks out.
The aforementioned Halo Infinite is a 2021 first-person shooter game developed by 343 Industries and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game was released on December 8, 2021, for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It serves as the sixth primary installment in the Halo series, succeeding Halo 5: Guardians (2015). The campaign focused on Master Chief and his conflict against the Banished on the Forerunner ringworld known as Zeta Halo. The multiplayer component is available as a free-to-play mode.