Developer 343 Industries has announced that the much-awaited co-op mode for Halo Infinite is getting delayed until May 2022, at the earliest. The studio claims that it requires “more time” to work on the iconic game mode, and might not be available with Season 2.
Halo Infinite launched on December 10, 2021, alongside its Season 1 multiplayer which brought a set of unique maps and games modes inspired by the previous iterations. At the time, 343 had stated that a co-op mode for the campaign segment should come out with Season 2. However, it seems to have gotten delayed again.
Speaking to Eurogamer, Joseph Staten, head of 343 said, “- the recent extension of Halo Infinite Season 1 to May 2022 means the releases of campaign co-op and Forge mode have also been pushed back from their initial announced target launch windows.”
Season 1 multiplayer was initially supposed to run for 3 months only but was then extended, in order to compensate for its numerous matchmaking issues. According to Staten, the studio needs more time to ensure that Season 2 meets its high-quality bar and accordingly, stretched out its battle pass rewards and dates.
Work on the campaign co-op segment has been running in parallel to Season 2 and the Forge mode – which allows for custom created maps and game modes. “- 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,” he said in a related blog post.
Players can also expect the iconic 2-player split-screen mode on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S consoles. However, the non-linear sections of the map are presenting some big challenges for the studio, and hence, require more development time. The team is still aiming to release the network co-op sometime in Season 2, though it might be at a much later date.
Prior to this, the studio was experimenting with a better pricing system for its in-game items – providing more value in bundles and selling individual items outside packages. They have also been working on the progress system, which many complained about for being too long and tiring.
