In news that will devastate many fans who were already disappointing in Halo Infinite's previous roadmap, Campaign Co-Op will not be coming in Season 2.
It's getting to the stage now that Campaign Co-Op seems like a distant theory of a possibility. It is such an absurdity that in 2022 a big-release game like Halo Infinite can release in such an unfinished state that one of its core features won't be available even half a year after launch. It's absurd in itself that Halo Infinite's second season won't drop until May 2022, but downright bizarre that the developers will not be delivering Campaign Co-op until even further in the future.
Realistically, this news is not just indicative of this particular feature, but a sign that Halo Infinite's Forge mode may be the next one to see a significant further delay. Announcing that Halo Infinite Season 2 will launch on May 3, 2022, 343 Industries have now confirmed that Campaign Co-op will not come quite yet, and – indeed – does not even have a set release date as of writing.
It is, honestly, getting a bit ridiculous. It was only the other day that we reported on fan's disappointment over what was, at the time, Halo Infinite's 2022 Roadmap. With only three seasons in the space of a year, it truly seems that Halo Infinite is of a different time. Drowning in over-priced microtransactions, its multiplayer has failed to retain its players despite its robust weekly challenges system, multitude of maps, and excellent gameplay. This will surely serve as further nail in Halo Infinite's potential.
When Will Campaign Co-Op Come To Halo Infinite?
According to Joseph Staten, head of creative at 343 Industries, Halo Infinite's Campaign Co-Op won't come until later in Season 2, not at launch. Not much was really revealed in the press release, other than the fact that this vital mode will not drop when Season 2 releases, but will come much later. It is also unknown whether this will be a proper split-screen co-op mode or just online co-op. Staten explained the decision, stating:
The reality is that it’s going to take more time to land a high-quality, full-featured 4-player network co-op experience in the massive, wide-open world of Halo Infinite. We’re also committed to a great 2-player split-screen co-op experience on all Xbox consoles, from the original Xbox One through Xbox Series X—and the non-linear, wide-open sections of the Campaign present some big challenges for split-screen that have taken us more time to solve.
This is all well and good, of course, but it is becoming increasingly apparent that 343 Industries should have delayed Halo Infinite – at least for another six months – to release a more complete and long-lived experience. The game is likely to falter over these next few months, as it will take more than a few little Events to retain the player-base.
All this means that we will not be able to ship Campaign network co-op on May 3rd, at the start of Season 2. But we are still aiming to deliver Campaign network co-op later in Season 2, and we will share a release date for that and for split-screen co-op as soon as we can.
Ultimately, though, Halo Infinite will want to increase its overall pool of maps, increase its arsenal of weapons, introduce new Story DLC to the Campaign, and more, if it hopes to keep its position as a leading games-as-a-service title. Whether this was the right business decision for 343 Industries and Microsoft to take is yet to be seen. Halo Infinite did have a record number of players at launch, but that doesn't guarantee long-lived success. For that, we're going to need a lot more...