Halo Infinite began shakily when it released in November 2021 without its sought-after co-op and Forge mode play – at the time, developer 343 Industries promised that these would come to the game at a later date.
Now, after waiting seven months, the studio has revealed that the beloved feature is set to arrive in Halo Infinite in August 2022.
Ahead of the upcoming release of campaign co-op, the developers have launched a “test flight” beta within the Xbox Insider App. In order to access the latest content you first must be subscribed as an Xbox Insider and have the app installed on your Xbox, you will then follow the instructions to download it. The co-op campaign data is 50.81GB.
As a big fan of the franchise, I was very excited to get to experience it with friends. I had a fantastic time charging through the the landscapes and fighting the Banished as a team. It is important to note that Halo Infinite campaign co-op doesn’t have online matchmaking so I needed to group up manually within my Xbox friends. This process was simple enough however you we couldn’t add people while playing. We all had to go back to the main menu in order to bring them into the game with us.
Due to the open world nature of Halo Infinite players can not get more than a thousand feet (305m) away from each other before hitting a kill barrier. I did find this interrupted the combat during bigger battles, as you had to stop and move closer to the other team members while fighting. Friendly fire is active throughout your groups adventures, so be careful where you through those plasma grenades! Running around in the universe with up to 3 other players is a lot of fun. There was a lot to explore however there did seem to be a lot of empty space to explore. I hope they fill these gaps with more collectables, artifacts or enemies when it officially launches.
Unlike the previous Halo co-operative play character customisation options, Halo Infinite Co-op Campaign allows none. It is strange having four Chiefs running around all at once and I believe it was a massive oversight by 343. I personally would like to be able to use my online character in co-op mode. Not only because players work hard to earn gear for them but so we can differentiate easily from one another.
As Halo Infinite continues to release in delayed chunks, I am cautiously optimistic that this co-op campaign will inject some vitality back into the game. There are also high hopes for the anticipated Forge, where gamers can create their own custom maps. The “quality of life improvements” have not been enough for Halo fans, so I hope 343 Industries can finish this year in a positive light in regards to the state of Halo Infinite.
