Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries shared a new development roadmap for the game today, and there’s some bad news for Halo fans. The game’s Season 3 has been delayed to March 2023, and it will be preceded by a “Winter Update” that will introduce the much-anticipated Campaign network co-op.

Halo Insiders got to test online co-op last month, and the feature is now set to launch with the Winter Update on November 8, alongside the Forge beta. However, 343 Industries confirmed to IGN that split-screen coop has now been canceled.

“In order to improve and accelerate ongoing live service development, and to better address player feedback and quality of life updates, we have reallocated studio resources and are no longer working on local campaign split-screen co-op,” 343 Industries said.

Split-screen co-op was already missing from Halo 5: Guardians, but 343 Industries had promised to bring it back to Halo Infinite. Well, getting online co-op will be better than nothing, and the feature will launch a year after Halo Infinite’s release on Xbox and PC. The game had already been delayed by a year in the fall 2020.

Halo Infinite is in a pretty weird state right now: Despite the game’s multiplayer being free-to-play for the first time in the series, the slow development pace and persisting issues have pushed many die-hard fans away. Some of the most recurrent complaints from gamers include the lack of content, the frustrating progression system, as well as the inability to disable crossplay between Xbox and PC.

“We continue to be grateful for the community’s passion and patience as we look to what’s coming on the horizon,” 343 Industries said today. The upcoming Forge beta, online co-op, and mission replay will certainly help to bring back the game to the spotlight later this fall. However, it remains to be seen if six months seasons will be really sustainable to keep players engaged over time.

Tagged with Gaming, Halo, Halo Infinite, Xbox