343 Industries has undergone massive change, from the fallout of Halo Infinite’s complicated launch to the recent layoffs within Microsoft. Recently, rumors have circulated on the future status of the company, considering the sizable loss of 95 employees since the start of 2023 alone. While 343 Industries has yet to come out with an official statement, a Bloomberg report has all but confirmed a major restructuring of the company and its flagship Halo franchise.
Following the troubled launch of the long-awaited Halo Infinite, fans and employees have voiced concerns over the studio’s poor management. many within the company have pointed to this lack of proper leadership for their projects, and especially Halo Infinite, as the cause for many of the layoffs within the studio. Considering how badly 343’s reputation was hit, it seemed almost inevitable that massive change was coming.
Leaked Halo / Tatanka a year ago, but yeah, can corroborate all of this. I wanted to get more sources on Unreal before pulling the trigger again on that. Seems there was a big internal tug of war about whether or not to go all in on Unreal. The Unreal side won. https://t.co/oaqv9LpdEh
— Jez (@JezCorden) January 31, 2023
Sources speaking to Bloomberg alleged that the studio would be doing a complete overhaul within the Halo franchise. Instead of continuing content for Halo Infinite, 343 would be working on new Halo projects for the Unreal Engine. According to Bloomberg, these projects were being worked on before the recent layoffs. However, it’s alleged that many of those developers were apart of the layoff casualties.
For many, the switch to the Unreal engine is a long time coming. This comes after a near decade long debate within and outside of the company concerning the switch from their current aging engine, Slipstream. While it’s unknown what future games will operate under the Unreal Engine, it’s reported that the engine switch will begin with a new Halo game code-named “Tatanka.”
Tatanka will reportedly be developed alongside Texas-based studio Certain Affinity. According to the report, the project started off as a battle royale is said to have evolved “…in different directions.”
