Co-op has been an integral part of the Halo franchise right from the original game, but only now is it coming to Halo Infinite, and even then, it’s only with the Campaign Network Co-op Test Flight. It’s expected to go live today, Friday 15th July, with the ability to sign up for the test now live in Xbox Insider.
This will allow you to finally play the campaign in up to four player co-op, as well as try out the Mission Replay feature to let you revisit previously completed missions from the campaign.
Here’s how to get it.
Halo Infinite co-op release date and beta availability
This isn’t the full and final version of Halo Infinite co-op, but should be equivalent to the full experience, which is expected to release for the full game in the next couple of months, hopefully in August. For now, the Campaign Network Co-op Test will run until 1st August across Xbox and PC.
How to get the Halo Infinite co-op beta on Xbox
This is a standalone version of the game, a separate install required to the main game, and with no save data transferred between them. You will also need to either own Halo Infinite or be signed up to Xbox Game pass in order to take part.
Aside from that, the only requirement is that you be an Xbox Insider on Xbox consoles. Steam players will have needed to sign up in advance and should look for an invite email with a dedicated download code. Windows 10/11 users via the Windows Store are not a part of this test.
Here’s the step by step:
- Open the Xbox Store on your Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S console.
- Search for “Insider” and select the “Xbox Insider Hub”
- Download the Xbox Insider Hub app
- Once downloaded, open the app and navigate to the Previews section.
- Look for Halo Infinite – Insider and select it.
- Click on ‘Join’ and wait while the button turns to ‘Pending’ and a loading circle spins.
- After a little time this will open the Xbox Store again, this time taking you directly to the Halo Infinite – Insider page.
- Select ‘Install’ and download the client.
At this time, the client being downloaded is a placeholder at around 285MB. The community advice at this time is to restart your console, which will hopefully trigger the ability to download the full game build at around 50GB.
What is in the Halo Infinite co-op test?
The Halo Infinite Campaign Network Co-op test will feature the full Halo Infinite campaign, now playable in a squad of up to four players online – couch co-op is planned, but won’t be available for some time. Halo Infinite’s campaign co-op will have separate save files and progression for all players in a lobby, so you won’t simply be progressing one person’s play file. The game will compare save files and dynamically mark missions that all players have finished as complete, while anything where at least one player has not finished it will be marked incomplete. There’s similar concessions for collectables, and other unlocks.
One feature to be aware of is the “Area-Of-Operations”. This is a player tether within the open world that will restrict how far you can move away from your buddies. At around 800 feet, you’ll receive a warning, and at 1000 feet, you’ll be killed and respawned at the nearest teammate. In stream that actually looked to be a pretty decent distance, though you really don’t have fullfreedom to explore and battle independently.
Lastly, the Mission Replay feature will be introduced and will work via the Tac-Map. This will now show completed missions that you can select and then choose to replay. You’ll be able to then select difficulty and activate any game modifier Skulls you or your teammates have collected. This will reset the mission and teleport you and your fireteam to that point. This includes replaying the very first mission in the game, Warship Gbraakon, which you previously could not return to in order to grab any missed collectables.
