Halo Infinite’s Campaign Co-op and Forge modes will release post-launch

343 Industries have confirmed in a development update video on their Halo YouTube page that Halo Infinite will have a campaign co-op mode and a highly anticipated Forge mode, but not until after the product launches. Instead, the team wants to focus on Halo Infinite’s single-player campaign and multiplayer modes so those can go out smoothly for the game’s anticipated holiday release.

The team at 343 Industries had to focus quite a bit more on the campaign and multiplayer because of the COVID-19 lockdowns during 2020 and part of 2021. Joseph Staten, Halo Infinite’s head of creative, explained that it was a tough call for the team, but it was a decision they agreed to make to ensure the game was released in a reasonable time following its initial delay from being an Xbox Series X launch title.

Thankfully Staten did offer a release window for both modes in the development update. Halo Infinite’s multiplayer will launch in the game’s first season, followed by campaign co-op in season two, and Forge mode is coming in season three. The lengths of these are expected to be three months long.

The news of losing Halo’s iconic cooperative mode when the title launches is a bit of a bummer. But if players are left to wait much longer, 343 Industries could lose a good amount of goodwill with their audiences.