Halo Studios

Halo Studios, formerly 343 Industries, is a video game developer under Xbox Game Studios responsible for the Halo franchise. The studio was founded in late 2007 when Microsoft established an internal team to steward Halo after Bungie gained independence. In October 2024, 343 Industries rebranded as Halo Studios alongside a shift to Unreal Engine 5 for all future Halo development.

Origin Story: Taking Over from Bungie

Why 343 Industries Was Created

Bungie and Microsoft’s cultures never aligned well. After Halo 2, Bungie renegotiated for independence, which Microsoft granted in 2007 while retaining the Halo rights. Xbox general manager Bonnie Ross argued for an internal studio rather than outsourcing. She was put in charge of 343 Industries, named after the Halo character 343 Guilty Spark. The studio started with roughly a dozen people in late 2007.

Key Games Under 343 Industries

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (2011)

A remaster of the original Halo developed with Saber Interactive in approximately one year to coincide with the franchise’s tenth anniversary.

Halo 4 (2012)

343’s first fully original Halo game and the beginning of the Reclaimer Saga. Received strong reviews and introduced a new villain in the Didact.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection (2014)

A collection of Halo 1 through 4 for Xbox One. The launch was severely compromised by matchmaking issues that took months to fix, significantly damaging 343’s reputation.

Halo Infinite (2021)

After a one-year delay, launched December 2021 with a critically praised open-world campaign and solid multiplayer. Post-launch support was slower than the community expected and the game struggled to retain players over time.

The Rebrand to Halo Studios

In October 2024 at the Halo World Championship, 343 Industries rebranded as Halo Studios alongside a confirmed shift to Unreal Engine 5. Multiple new Halo games are in development. In 2025, Halo: Campaign Evolved, a full remake of the original Combat Evolved’s campaign, was announced for release in 2026 on Windows, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5, the franchise’s first PlayStation appearance. Rumors of the game first came up before the studio name change was announced. Shortly after the announcement of Campaign Evolved, there were rumors than Halo 2 and 3 would also be getting the same treatment.

A new engine could be exactly what Halo needs at this point. Without the need to develop an engine, the studio can focus on what really matters, the core gameplay, the multiplayer, and the story.