Despite the fact that Head of Xbox Phil Spencer recently confirmed that 343 Industries is still expecting the game to launch later this year, there’s still plenty of information that isn’t clear about the highly anticipated Halo Infinite. Because of this, fans are clinging to any details revealed about the game, as they might be key to unlocking its mystery. In an unfortunate development update about the game’s progress today, 343 Industries announced that Halo Infinite will be launching without two key features: Forge mode and campaign co-op.
While Forge mode’s omission from Halo Infinite’s launch is definitely a disappointment, the lack of campaign multiplayer has fans feeling like 343 Industries isn’t necessarily making good on their previous promises for the game. It’s important to note that the feature won’t be excluded forever, and that the studio is planning for it to launch during Halo Infinite’s multiplayer’s second season roughly three months after its release. That said, not having campaign co-op day one might be tainting the game’s reputation before it even launches.
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Halo's History of Co-Op
The Halo series has a history of supporting co-op multiplayer in its campaigns, even after other popular first-person shooter series stopped supporting it. Depending on who’s asked, some even argue that the games’ campaigns are best experienced with another player as the earlier titles’ A.I. companions often leave a lot to be desired. Additionally, Halo 3’s campaign was specifically made with co-op in mind as Master Chief and the Arbiter spend the entire length of the game back-to-back shooting their way out of each discrete situation.
Every Halo game except for Halo 5: Guardians supported campaign co-op, which is why when Halo 5 launched without it, the franchise’s community was vocal about wanting it to be reinstated. While 343 wasn’t able to include it for Halo 5: Guardians, the studio promised that campaign co-op would return for Halo Infinite. After today’s news, it’s clear that, while the co-op option will be incorporated eventually, it might be a little too late.
The Impacts of Halo Infinite’s Lack of Co-Op at Launch
Because co-op will be coming to Halo Infinite post-launch, 343 is technically keeping its promise to include it, however, that doesn’t mean the studio will be getting any sort of goodwill for it; quite the opposite, in fact. After delaying Halo Infinite’s release by a whole year, fan expectations are through the roof for the studio to deliver the best entry in the series so far, and omitting co-op for the game’s launch is one major way that the game is getting off on the wrong foot.
Due to Halo’s history of multiplayer campaigns, many fans have returned to the series with each subsequent entry to play through the games with a friend. Halo 5’s omission of the feature felt like the studio was starting to misunderstand what makes the series so special to so many fans, and with Infinite’s delayed co-op campaign, it feels like that might be continuing. Sure, fans looking to play the campaign together will be able to do so eventually, but there’s a certain level of excitement that comes with playing a game right when it launches that will disappear for co-op-centric fans who wait to play the campaign three months after its release.
At the end of the day, 343 is still technically keeping its promise to include co-op, but it feels like it’s going to be too little too late. While three months might not seem like a long time for those planning to play Halo Infinite’s campaign with a buddy, it certainly feels longer since the campaign will be available for everyone else. Additionally, it’s not only a three-month wait, but a three-month wait added on top of a 12-month wait that saw fans growing excited to experience the title with a friend as promised.
Halo Infinite is in development for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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