343 Industries released the August edition of its series of development updates today, revealing new information about the recently concluded Halo Infinite technical preview, as well as some changes to the launch package of the highly anticipated shooter. A major reveal was that cooperative campaign play and Forge features will not be shipping with the launch product.
343"s Joseph Staten said the two features" quality does not currently meet the standards of the studio, simply adding that they are not ready for prime time. "We are going to keep campaign co-op and Forge in the oven for a little bit longer, and then when they are ready, we are going to release them as part of our seasonal roadmap next year," he added.
Campaign co-op is now planned to launch in Season 2 of Halo Infinite"s live service roadmap, while the Forge level editor is targeting a Season 3 launch. A Season, in this sense, will last about three months, meaning co-op will be at least three months out from launch, and Forge will be at least six months out. Since these are early targets, fans may have to wait even longer if things don"t pan out.
The studio added that the development team is now in bug fixing mode to hit the launch smoothly. Instead of delaying the entire game to make sure aforementioned two features meet the mark, it has decided to not force fans to wait any longer and go forth with this delayed feature release strategy instead.
Halo Insiders should be getting their hands on another multiplayer flight soon as well, and this one will feature PVP action, including four versus four and Big Team Battle matches. Insiders will get to test upcoming content like Forge following the game"s launch as well.
While a launch date for Halo Infinite has still not been confirmed, 343 Industries reiterated that the title — containing both campaign and free-to-play multiplayer segments — will be launching this holiday on PC and Xbox consoles, and that it is pretty close to making a release date announcement.