Halo: Infinite Will Not Have Co-op Campaign, Multiplayer Forge at Launch

We know how hard it can be to make a video game, especially one with the high expectations that Halo: Infinite has. But even so, its a bit of a downer to hear that neither Co-op campaign nor multiplayer map editing in Forge will be available at launch.

Developers 343 Industries recently released an August development update video, in which they updated the public about progress and what to expect. This, unfortunately, included an announcement, delaying these features until post-launch.



They cite pandemic shutdowns and a limited amount of time before release as the main reason.

Unfortunately as we focused the team for shutdown and really focused on a quality experience for launch we made the really tough decision to delay shipping campaign co-op for launch. and we also made the tough call to delay shipping Forge past launch as well.
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Our number one priority is making sure that whatever we ship, whenever we ship it, it meets the right quality bar across all platforms. And when we looked at these two experiences, campaign co-op and Forge, we made the determination theyre just not ready. And as a studio we dont want to ship things if theyre not ready.

While their reasoning is perfectly sound, its still somewhat of a bummer to hear. Co-op campaign mode has been with the franchise since the original game. And Forge mode, introduces with Halo 3, has since become a staple component of the franchise. Hearing that they will be delayed past launch isnt pleasant.

The lack of co-op is what bums me out the most, personally. Since its delayed past launch, I have to choose whether to get it and play solo, or wait until the co-op is added to play with my wife. If co-op play is a big enough reason to wait, then the game is essentially delayed what sounds like as long as 6 months.

This has been a difficult development for Halo: Infinite. The game, originally intended to launch alongside the Xbox Series S/X, was delayed nearly an entire year due to development complications. And even now, as we approach the estimated release window, word of further delays and complications arise. This isnt looking great for the game.