Halo, the game that took the industry by storm in 2001 is about to start a new beginning for the franchise in 2024 onwards.

We all heard the news that 343i will be renamed Halo Studios and the shift from its own game engine Slipspace to Unreal Engine 5+ which has got some people excited and some people concerned about the shift and changes. So lets get into it.

NAME CHANGE: 343 Industries changed to Halo Studios

This isn't anything new to a business, it's part of a clever business strategy to change the name of a brand which might be carrying too much weight, normally with negative views. Changing the name brings a breath of fresh air to the studio which will also include internal changes like staffing and networks. This means that MS is investing heavily into 343i to have it renewed, something that wouldn't be cheap to do and can be a huge risk but in Halos case, something needed. Halo 5: Guardians and Halo: Infinite just came out with too much negative publicity and for the franchise to recover, it will require some drastic changes.

Some people also hate the idea it's called Halo after the game, which they missed the entire point of 343i. But let's clear the air. 343i was created to replace Bungie and to continue to make Halo only games. 343 is a character from the original release called 343 Guilty Spark. 343i was solely created to continue the franchise with no distractions of other projects. It was the entire reason why MS and Bungie split, due to Bungie no longer wanting to work on Halo and to make a new IP. Halo Studios will operate the same as it was 343i and that's to continue making Halo content. And for those jumping up and down on forcing a studio to focus on one series, then look no further then Turn 10, a studio solely created to make Forza games. This isn't a new strategy; it's been going on for decades.

Personally, I never liked the 343i name, I never understood out of all of Halo Universe, that was the character and name they wanted to name the company after. I actually like the Halo Studios name as it's a lot more universal with the series and straight to the point.

ENGINE CHANGE: Slipspace replaced by Unreal Engine

So, this has twisted a few feathers however we need to really understand why Halo Infinite limped out on launch. It lacked content, had in game issues and slow content releases. This was all due to the Engine, yes Slipspace is an incredible engine however the lack of experience working with the engine, while the engine did have issues during development where devs claimed they were losing files of content due to the engine. This affected Halo Infinite's launch and explains the lack of and slow content releases. 

Moving to Unreal Engine has so many benefits, let me explain. First, the engine is a lot more universal for staff to work on, it's the default engine across learning game development and is incredibly powerful and reliable. Keep in mind that Unreal Engine will also be modified to work on the games, much like how The Coalition use Unreal Engine for Gears of War. Speaking of The Coalition, moving to Unreal also allows internal teams to jump on and help with development and content, so expect The Coalition to help Halo Studios in the near future with game development etc, something that would be harder to do with the current Slipspace. So, adding the best experts with Unreal Engine into the game development can do wonders for a game, and no one knows Unreal better than The Coalition. This change will not only improve the visuals of Halo, it will also guarantee faster release content, more content and even more games. 

CONCLUSION: Changes will always worry people, as the saying goes, people don't like change, however in some circumstances, changes are necessary to revive or push forward. People are just not happy with the Halo games we have had recently, even though they all have great highs and lows. Halo is a series that not only has a heavy nostalgia to it, and it is an icon of gaming and is a huge part of many people's lives, and nothing will feel better than seeing this series back to its very best. MS also want Halo to be better, hence the changes. Halo use to offer the perfect game package of having the best SP, MP, Visuals, Sound, Music and Gameplay, so let's see if the Halo Studios can go back to making Halo the best FPS franchise on the market again.

What are your thoughts on the new changes with Halo, are you excited or nervous?

UPDATE

Digital Foundry just released thier video Explaining the Pros and Concerns, see below.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zxIBxusvyMQ&t=1660s

I just want another halo. Been far too long. Infinite was excellent.

This seems like a necessary change. I think going to Unreal is the correct call because it address their biggest Engine concerns. The biggest question will be performance because we've seen games stuggle. It's safe to safe, performance issues a year ago aren't going to be the same 2 years from now with updates and devs getting more familiar with the engine. If Halo studios runs into any issues, they have multiple studios that can help out like the Coalition.
I'm hopeful the studio will get Halo back on track. They have a whole new leadership team in charge with Pierre Hintze leading the charge. The guy seems to know what Halo needs and what the fans want.

I was playing Halo before Xbox Live was even a thing, but when Bungie and Marty left, it felt like the soul of the machine left with them. Despite this, I spent years trying to stay in love with the franchise because in my opinion, those games were the best console FPS of all time. But I just can't anymore. It's been too many missteps. Too many attempts to recreate the magic that was Halo 1-3, only to see each one fall short (imo) of that goal. So I'm done. It was a glorious fight, but we finished it. 

Same here with how long I've been playing Halo. So many LAN parties back in the day with my classmates.

But the big difference this time around though is that everyone that created those missteps for so many years after Bungie left, are no longer at the studio. Literally nobody. Thus a big reason why the studio name change. They're not 343 anymore. 

So I'll be willing to give Halo Studios this first chance to make an impression. 

I don't believe 343 have it in them to bring Halo back to the highs of the original Trilogy. I very much doubt it'll get back to that unless MS snags some of the Bungie people out from under Sony, provided they are still actually at the studio and haven't lost there touch but with Destiny 2's core gameplay it looks like they still have that X factor but have just lost themselves in the sauce of live service.

Nah, We're never getting those days back again. Even if the people at 343 magically raised their talent levels to that of bungie they don't seem to know what a Halo player wants. Best bet for them to make a good Halo game is to remake Combat Evolved and or for a MP game remake all the original trilogy maps and put them in one package. I'd buy a series S for the latter. 

Feel the same, not particularly excited.

343 has mishandled halo, and nonthing they do will reach the level of bungie halo. Will this change? I hope so, but they have had multiple chances and I'm tired of giving more.

Halo is Xbox, like how Mario is to Nintendo. It needs to get back to that level.

Why is everyone still mentioning 343 as if they exist anymore? Everyone that led 343 throughout these tumultuous years and missteps are now gone. 343 doesn't exist anymore. The whole point of this thread being "The New Era Begins" is because this is a completely fresh new start for the studio.

New leadership from top to bottom, a LOT of new creative leads since the entire creative team was laid off, new tech, and from what's been said so far, a new concept on making Halo games. Which I imagine stems from not having to create and maintain their own internal engine now.

343 was always good from a gameplay perspective, like 343's Halo games always felt good to play. So they have talented gameplay developers. Infinite's gameplay in particular is fantastic. So what I'm personally hoping for now with Halo Studios is an entirely new group of leadership and creatives that know Halo and want to bring back those epic stories that all of us fondly remember from Bungie's Halo days.

They did that, its called The Master Chief Collection, they even remastered Halo 2 within it, which was fantastic.