After multiple rumors broke out over the weekend indicating at an imminent launch, Halo Infinite's multiplayer surprised launched into beta. Finally, after waiting over six years for 343's latest installment into the beloved Halo series, fans accross Xbox and PC platforms finally got to experience the much delayed next generation of Halo multiplayer. Despite this, 343 has a long way to go until all of the modes fans have been waiting for are available in Halo Infinite, and after confirming that Forge and campaign co-op would be coming soon after launch, head of creative at 343 Industries Joseph Staten has revealed that these modes are now expected later.
Halo Infinite was first revealed at E3 2018 and after years of hype, was delayed from its original November 2020 launch window after major fan backlash following an underwhelming gameplay demonstration just four months ahead of launch. In August of this year, after the game had undergone a highly successful technical preview tests and fan response was an an all-time high for Halo Infinite, 343 Industries revealed that for the first time in series history, Halo Infinite will not launch with campaign co-op.
The fan favorite Forge mode will also not release until months after the game's launch, with campaign co-op planned to release during the second season of the free-to-play multiplayer mode's battle pass system, and Forge planned to release during season 3.
Due to the extension of the first season of content, dubbed "Heroes of Reach," which is now expected to run until May 2022, 343 has revealed that these modes will be delayed until the seasons they are part of are ready to launch. This means campaign co-op will not arrive any earlier than June 2022, with Forge likely to come some time after September 2022. Even with these estimated dates, Joseph Staten claimed to Eurogamer that 343 "can't commit to any hard dates right now," and that these timeframes are still subject to change.
With all of the good press surrounding Halo Infinite after so long, it's disappoiting to hear that there are still major features of the game that still have no solid roadmap, at least not publicly yet. Despite this and some issues with battle pass progression, fans seem to be enjoying Halo's latest free-to-play multiplayer outing, even with some problems in the beta. Hopefully 343 can keep this good energy going for the future of the live service game as it continues to compete with titans such as Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone.
Halo Infinite will be released on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on December 8th 2021. Multiplayer is currently available in beta.