With Halo Infinite, a game originally slated to be a launch title for the Xbox Series X/S, being delayed until sometime in 2021, Halo fans have had The Master Chief Collection to fall back on. Each entry has gradually been made available for the PC, with Halo 4 being the most recent and final addition, officially completing 343 Industries' goal of having the whole collection on PC before Halo Infinite's release.
This doesn't mean development on the collection will now stop, as 343 intends on continuing to update the games and address any lingering bugs and glitches. However, in a bit of bad news for some Halo fans, 343 has stated that it won't be implementing 4-player co-op into the first two games, after it was asked about it by a fan.
With both Halo 3 and Halo 4 having this feature, some players have wondered if it would retroactively be added to the original Halo and Halo 2. According to community support and engagement coordinator Tyler “Postums” Davis and senior software engineer Sean “Scoops” Cooper, while it is technically feasible (Davis openly admits to loving the idea), it won't be done simply because of the amount of work it would require.
Davis adds that not only would it incredibly complex to do, it also isn't that much of a priority, especially when compared to arguably more pressing needs, like updating the co-op netcode, adding lost content, and other upgrades.
Cooper also provides a number of difficulties that the team would face trying to add two additional players to the games. Examples include new spawn points needing to be added, scripting needing to be updated, which could possibly inadvertently alter existing behavior, and the impact on difficulty. Would having more players make the game too easy? Would there be enough resources for four players?
But while 343 has no intention of doing it, it sounds like Davis isn't opposed to the idea of the fans themselves creating a 4-player co-op mod, openly saying that, once official development winds down, The Master Chief Collection will live on through the modding community. There are already plenty of fan-made modes for the collection. Earlier this year, one modder added a third-person mode to Halo 3 and there are even already mods for Halo 4.
With the collection complete on PC, now may be the perfect time for new fans to jump on board and see why the series continues to be so popular. Though new players looking to learn and master the games may want to read up on some helpful Halo tips to get them started.
As for Halo Infinite, there have been rumors of it receiving a battle-royale mode of some kind, but 343 has officially denounced those rumors.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection is available on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Halo Waypoint