'Halo Infinite' Won't Have Campaign Co-Op Or Forge Modes At Launch

The team has introduced a single player mode, Season 1, which is primarily multiplayer, and Staten said the team intends to release single player modes for Season 2 and Season 3. There are plans to release the campaign and cooperative in season two, three months after Halo Infinite debuts, and the Forge season three to six months after launch. The team launched Season 1 of Halo Infinite with multiplayer, but Staten said they aim to release a single-player mode in Season 2. 

Microsoft expects to support co-op campaigns about three months after release, and Forge is expected to be available about six months after launch. A final date for Halo Infinite has yet to be announced, but the game is expected to hit the market sometime during the holiday season. 

In a breakdown of Halo Infinite, the highly anticipated launch title of the Xbox Series X and the first technical multiplayer preview of Halo, developer 343 Industries has indicated that the game will not release with an on-disc Co-op campaign or forge, although it has been confirmed for release in 2021. Microsoft wanted Halo Infinite as an Xbox One X launch game in November 2013, but 343 delayed the game until 2021, and now the studio says it will come at a time when it will have two fan favorite features. In a development update, 343 announced that Campaign, Co-ops and Forge will not be available for launch, and will instead focus on single player campaign and multiplayer mode.

The developers considered postponing Halo Infinite on the first day to accommodate these features, but eventually decided to begin with a solo campaign and an initial multiplayer mode and release the rest over time. On Friday 343 Industries announced that the campaign and co-op will be released in Season 2 of Halo Infinite while post-launch content such as multiplayer map editing and forge mode will be part of Season 3. 

The news could prove a little disappointing for longtime fans of the series, who see the co-op campaign and Forge as crucial to the overall series experience, reports Eurogamer. 

Staten explained in a Friday development update video that the team had serious discussions about delaying the game but ultimately decided to focus on completing the solo campaign - the first season of the free-to-play multiplayer - and rely on the live service system to update the game. Staten said delaying the release of the two modes was a difficult decision, but the teams' top priority is to ensure that "Halo Infinite" is delivered in its best quality on all platforms. Staten also confirmed that the team has a seasonal release schedule for both the campaign and working with Forge.