Halo 3 remaster almost happened but 343 Industries “lacked the resources”

A remaster of the legendary Halo 3 was strongly considered internally, but at the time, 343 Industries allegedly “lacked the resources” to execute on it properly.

While the Halo series certainly has numerous camps all arguing for their ‘top pick’, be it Halo Reach for its remarkable campaign or Halo 2 for its unforgettable multiplayer, none can deny the impact of Halo 3.

As one of the most highly-regarded entries in the franchise, Bungie’s third instalment helped revolutionize console-based multiplayer, especially in the heyday of the Xbox 360.

As such, thousands of avid fans around the globe cherish their memories with Halo 3. When Halo: Combat Evolved got the Anniversary treatment in 2011, followed by Halo 2: Anniversary edition in 2014, it seemed an obvious next step for Halo 3 to be close behind.

That wasn’t the case, however, and now, all these years on, we know the reason why. According to a former 343 Industries employee, the studio simply “lacked the resources” to get it done.

The reason we never got a Halo 3 remaster

The idea of following up with Halo 3: Anniversary was allegedly discussed internally at 343 Industries, according to Halo 5 Concept Art Lead and Halo Infinite Associate Art Director Darren Bacon, as said in an upcoming episode of the VideoGamer Podcast.

“I recall, yeah, there was a desire for the team to revisit [Halo 3],” he confirmed. “I think that they were trying to align it with an anniversary of some sort.”

As for why it never got off the ground, Bacon pointed to post-launch support for Halo 5, followed by early production on Halo Infinite, which we all know now was greatly troubled.

“That’s the thing, it’s always just a resource battle of where to put your focus.”

With efforts at 343 divided, there was allegedly no room for a third large-scale project in the form of a Halo 3 remaster. At least, not if the team wanted to do the legendary FPS game justice.

A major factor behind it all, according to Bacon, was 343’s reliance on temporary contractors. “The problem that 343 runs into, is that an 18-month cycle on a contract oftentimes isn’t enough to make a product.”

Due to the supposed rotating door, with contractors ending their run only to be replaced by new contractors in need of onboarding, it apparently created a bottleneck that limited the studio’s real potential.

Without such a bottleneck, it certainly sounds like the team was eager to crack on with the next Anniversary project, being a Halo 3 remaster. For now, there’s no telling if such a throwback will ever see the light of day.

343, recently rebranded to Halo Studios, is currently toiling away on a new game in the franchise, one that swaps over to Unreal Engine 5 rather than the team’s proprietary engine.