343 has no plans for Halo Infinite campaign DLC; will develop new game with Unreal

Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries reportedly has no plans for a story DLC for the title, instead choosing to focus on developing a new online game built in Epic’s Unreal Engine.

The details:

• According to a report from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, 343 is not working on a DLC for Halo Infinite’s campaign but is working on its new game alongside support studio Certain Affinity.
• 2021's Halo Infinite runs on the in-house Slipspace engine, which was revealed to be riddled with bugs and difficult for members of the development team to use, resulting in a troubled production and the absence of many features found in older titles. Several multiplayer game modes are nearly finished, but engine issues have prevented their release.
• According to multiple sources, the claim that the studio had switched to Unreal Engine dates back to October 2022, when journalist Jeremy Penter stated that the rumors surrounding the switch were true. Bloomberg's report now expands on the claim, claiming that it is being used to create 343's new title, which is currently codenamed "Tatanka.”
• The studio is now said to be working on prototypes in the engine and pitching new ideas for future Halo games. Due to the current state of Halo Infinite, 343 is less likely to use in-house options for future releases, so we may see the series shift to using Unreal Engine for all future releases.

What else is happening at Xbox?

• 343 was recently hit with layoffs after parent Microsoft cut 10,000 jobs across the company. Out of all of the Xbox studios affected (Bethesda, 343 Industries, and The Coalition), the Halo developer was reportedly hit the hardest, losing 30 staff from its art department and its engine lead.
• Xbox’s first Developer_Direct showcase was held on January 25, giving us some more information on upcoming releases for the console. A new Elder Scrolls Online expansion, Necrom, the new Forza Motorsport, and Hi-Fi Rush were all revealed to the public, with the latter being released on the same day. Starfield was absent from the show, but Xbox has confirmed that a separate showcase for the RPG will be held in the near future. You can check out our full recap here.
• A port of the Nintendo 64 classic, Goldeneye 007, has been re-released on Xbox consoles. Not to be confused with the cancelled Xbox Live Arcade remaster for the Xbox 360, the new port is simply an emulated version of the N64 release, resulting in frame rate and texture issues. Regardless of performance problems, the reception from fans has been warm, with many praising the dual stick controls, which weren’t available on the original console release. It’s available now on Xbox Game Pass as well as Nintendo Switch Online’s expansion pass.