Halo Infinite’s Campaign co-op and Forge modes have been delayed until after May 2022, 343 Industries has now confirmed. We already knew that both modes wouldn’t be ready when Halo Infinite’s campaign launches on December 8, but the new delay is the result of 343 Industries extending Halo Infinite’s Season 1 for three additional months.
The Halo Infinite developer was planning to introduce new Seasons every three months, but the game’s Season 1 that launched on Monday with the free-to-play multiplayer beta will actually last six months, which is quite long for a live service game. Speaking with Eurogamer, Joseph Staten, Head of Creative at 343 Industries, confirmed that Campaign co-op in Halo Infinite should make its debut during Halo Infinite’s Season 2 starting in May 2022, with the Forge Mode to follow in the game’s Season 3.
“Yes, we are extending Season 1. So our goal still remains what I said before, which is to ship campaign co-op with Season 2 and Forge with Season 3. But those remain goals. Those remain targets. And we can’t commit to any hard dates right now, because as we’re seeing with this multiplayer beta, other things might move up in the priority stack for us.
“If it turns out that our progression system just isn’t working the way that we intended, if we need to move some of these bigger rocks sooner, then we as a team will make those decisions and will clearly communicate to our fans why we’re why we’re doing certain things.”
The first previews for Halo Infinite’s Campaign have been published today, and the general consensus is very positive. The move to a semi-open-world structure has been generally praised, though the lack of co-op support at launch is definitely a missed opportunity for the studio. For many Xbox fans, co-op is a core pillar of the Halo experience, and not having it at the launch of the biggest campaign ever seen in a Halo game is unfortunate, especially after the game had been delayed for a year.
Do you plan to skip Halo Infinite’s campaign until you can play it with friends after May 2022, or do you think the hype will be way too high to wait that long? Sound off in the comments below.
