343 Industries refuses to comment on the “excellent” cancelled Halo Infinite split-screen co-op, further puzzling fans of the series.
Recently, 343 Industries announced that season three of Halo Infinite’s multiplayer content would be delayed. The delay meant that the release date was moved from November 2022 to March 2023. As you can imagine, this didn’t sit well with fans.
It wasnt only season 3 that suffered
However, to make matters worse, not only did 343 delay season three by four months but the campaign split-screen co-op was also cancelled.
Granted, you can still play co-op online. The local co-op feature has been ever present since the original Halo in 2001. So this news came as a massive blow.
Furthermore, in the days that followed, keen fans discovered that there was an unofficial way to play the Halo Infinite campaign in split-screen co-op.
The fact that it still features in the game, despite being cancelled and still works well, makes the situation all that more puzzling.
Moreover, the folks at Digital Foundry have examined this unofficial split-screen hack, and the analysis experts say that the co-op is “excellent” and “feels so close to completion”.
Halo Infinite co-op worked well
“The sense is that the feature is very close to completion and that a lot of work was poured into it, making its omission very puzzling,” reported Digital Foundry.
“On Xbox Series X at least, there are no performance issues either. It’s really smooth in the 60fps mode with the console set to output 60Hz.”
However, Digital Foundry did add that: “performance is also wobbly – in part, thanks to the game’s inconsistent frame-pacing at 30fps but also through genuine frame-rate drops into the mid-20s in the open world.”
Digital Foundry reached out to 343 for further clarification on the cancelled split-screen co-op. However, sadly the comment was declined.
“Hearing back from the development team, we were told that they were ‘politely declining to provide comment on this occasion’,” said the tech experts.
Hopefully, 343 will one day explain more
With a bit of luck, 343 will reveal more details as to why the local co-op was cancelled for Halo Infinite in the coming months.
In related news, season two of the Halo TV series from Paramount has recently begun filming. Yay!
Are you disappointed that the local split-screen co-op was cancelled for Halo Infinite? Let us know across our social media channels.
While you’re here, be sure to check out our video of the week. 10 of the scariest horror games of all time are shown off. What is your favourite horror game?
Featured Image Credit: 343 Industries/BigMike-64 via Reddit/Source: Pure Xbox via Digital Foundry