When 343 Industries announced that Halo Infinite would be launching without campaign co-op, fans were upset. Cooperative multiplayer is baked into the DNA of the Halo series, and 343 had previously promised that co-op would be included in Infinite. While it is coming at some point down the road in 2022, many fans still seem to be let down by 343 Industries and the number of features that will be missing when the game launches. Yes, it's disappointing because of the promise that the studio made, however, the lack of campaign co-op might not end up being a deal-breaker after all.So little is known about Halo Infinite's campaign that the lack of co-op could be the devastating exclusion that some of the community is making it out to be. On the other hand, it could end up being in the game's favor in the long run. Because of this general lack of public knowledge, there's just no way to know how much of a misstep the exclusion could be in terms of whether co-op would be an enjoyable experience in the final version of the game.
Halo Infinite's Mysterious Campaign
While 343 Industries has given fans a clear look at Halo Infinite through multiplayer technical previews, there hasn't been much focus on the game's campaign. The technical previews did a great job at selling Infinite's new mechanics but offered no additional story content, which was to be expected as that wasn't the focus. It stands to reason, then, that if the multiplayer would be getting so much attention, the campaign would also be showcased during events as well. Unfortunately, that isn't the case, and there have been only a few brief looks at Infinite's campaign during its entire marketing cycle.
What's more, the previews have mostly been devoid of showcasing any gameplay. This could be for a few reasons, from 343 wanting the campaign to be as secret as it can be until the game launches or to prevent the leaked story details from spreading further by avoiding discussions about the campaign altogether. Whatever the reason, there's a general air of mystery surrounding the campaign, so there's nothing to suggest that co-op would even be a good fit for it.
Halo Infinite's Open-Ended Level Design
The only gameplay look at Halo Infinite's campaign was the controversial gameplay trailer that 343 Industries released last summer that left many fans feeling unsatisfied with the title. While the quality of the footage shown is up for debate, one thing was made clear: Halo Infinite is going for much more open-ended levels than have been seen in its most recent releases. While Halo has never been much of a "corridor shooter," the games have gradually gotten more linear with each new entry, but 343 wants to open things up again with Halo Infinite.
Following the gameplay trailer, many fans thought that Halo Infinite might be open-world, but 343 was quick to address the rumors and confirm that it isn't. Despite this, the more open-ended nature of the game's levels might mean that the game's design won't lend itself well to co-op. Previous open-ended levels like "The Silent Cartographer" were able to work alright when players stayed together, but could get completely broken if the right sequence of events were to take place if players seperated. That could be the case with Halo Infinite, and as the levels seem to be more open than ever before, it's possible that those sorts of issues with sequence breaking could be exasperated by adding campaign co-op.
Halo Infinite is set to launch on December 8 for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.