This is just an idea, but could 343 be using the Halo 5 engine to create the episodic cut-scene videos for spartan ops? Don’t get me wrong, the episodes look absolutely stunning, but I feel they aren’t quiet up to par in terms of quality with other pre-rendered CGI videos I’ve seen before.
Considering the common assumptions regarding the specs of the next gen Xbox, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if Halo 5 & up will look similar to the cut-scenes. I also think it would make pretty good sense for 343 to give their staff time using their newly developed engine on something less crucial like spartan ops, which could help to possibly speed up/smooth out the Halo 5 development process.
Of course I could be totally off, maybe the cut-scenes are just regular pre-rendered CGI, but it’d be pretty cool for 343 to surprise us down the line by saying the cut-scenes were made with the new engine. What do you guys think?
> Of course I could be totally off, maybe the cut-scenes are just regular pre-rendered CGI
I remember reading somewhere that another studio is working with 343i to build the cutscenes as pre-rendered video. Don’t recall who, or where I saw it, though. :\
> I remember reading somewhere that another studio is working with 343i to build the cutscenes as pre-rendered video. Don’t recall who, or where I saw it, though. :\
Ahhh man, what a bummer 
Ah well, next gen Halo will blow our minds either way.
The cutscenes are being made by the British studio Axis Animation. It’s going to be quite some time before any game engine can render that kind of quality in real time and outside of a tech demo.
I’m pretty sure there isn’t really a Halo 5 engine yet anyways. 