It’s no secret that the Halo franchise has been in a complicated spot for a long time. Halo 4 had the fanbase split on whether they consider it good or bad, and Halo 5 is just outright called a bad game by many.

To save one of Microsoft’s only exclusive franchises, Halo Infinite had to be a very good game. It needed to remind everyone why we loved Halo so much and attract a new generation as well. Microsoft knew this and made many promises. And creative decisions such as entirely reducing the Cortana plot twist from the previous game to an off-screen death were taken too.

Speaking of the promises, the game had a rocky launch despite being delayed from its original date over “development challenges”. It was missing the Forge mode, local co-op, and online co-op entirely – all of which has been an important part of the franchise for a while.

The story mode of Halo Infinite was meant to be the highlight but unfortunately it felt a bit barren compared to its predecessors. It was an improvement over 4 and 5, but that’s already setting the bar very low. It is a somewhat good game, but not nearly great which it should have been.

So, to make up for the rocky launch and the lack of content in Halo Infinite, Microsoft made a bunch of promises again to add:

  • Forge mode
  • Local co-op with split-screen
  • Online co-op
  • A new season every three months

As of September 2022, none of these promises have been fulfilled. Instead, we have been hit with another set of delays and some of the content has been cancelled outright. Let’s talk about it all.

Halo Infinite Season 3 Delayed to March 2023

When Halo Infinite was new, Microsoft promised that every three months, a new season for the game’s pass will be released. However, the second season of Halo Infinite is delayed to March 2023, which makes it a total of 10 months for which this season will last.

That’s right, it’s not delayed by one month. Not delayed by two months. But 7 extra months on top of what was originally announced in June 2021. It’s truly outrageous and has disappointed fans who were eagerly waiting to have more incentive to play the game.

Halo Infinite Local Co-Op and Split-Screen are cancelled

The Halo franchise has included split-screen local co-op since the dawn of time. Sure, online co-op is now what majority of us use, but there are still many hardcore fans of Halo that get together with their friends and have some fun on the same TV.

Unfortunately, not only was local co-op delayed with Halo Infinite, it is now completely cancelled as revealed in the recent development updates. If the feature was already missing from the game, it would already be a bummer – but it’s far worse to make fans wait for it and then tell them it won’t ever be coming to the game. Only the PC modding community can save the day now!

Halo Infinite Online Co-Op Delayed to November 2022

The co-op feature of the Halo games was always present in the series, whether through local means or online. Halo Infinite, despite its delays and false promises, still hasn’t included this capability to the game.

It was going to come out in September 2022 after the previous delays. But now the online co-op mode of Halo Infinite is not going to be available until November 8 2022.

This is genuinely an embarrassing state for one of the largest titles that the Xbox brand has. It’s not going too far to say that the game has been released incomplete despite having a AAA retail price. And any fan who was waiting to play the co-op with their friends, family, or partner simply have to wait even more as the game catches dust on their shelves.

Halo Infinite Forge Mode Delayed to November 2022

The Forge mode is one of the best part of any Halo game because it gives it endless life. Fans are able to create their own maps and rules, which is a lot of fun and keeps the community alive due to how exciting and unpredictable the experience can be.

To no surprise, Halo Infinite does not have a Forge mode and it was slated for a September 2022 release. Like everything else, the Forge mode of Halo Infinite is delayed to November 8 2022, leaving fans with nothing to do in September.

And even then, it’s just going to be a Beta release, which means unstable code and any potential bugs are going to be excused with “it’s not the final product yet”. But if your product isn’t final even a year after it’s release – it’s time to hang up the cape and call it quits.

A supposed leak of the Halo Infinite Forge mode

This is all the disappointment that 343 Industries has to offer at the moment. Granted, the Covid-19 pandemic made development difficult and Microsoft’s infamous 18-month contractor policy is horrible – but releasing a game like this is still unacceptable.

But it’s certainly more so the fault of Microsoft than the developers themselves. This is not how you manage your flagship title while Sony and Nintendo are making millions by treating their customers right.

The Forge mode does look pretty good for what it’s worth, but making people pay $60 dollars only to wait a year before they can actually have fun is just laughably unethical.

With the way things are going, a single playthrough using the Xbox Game Pass is all that Microsoft’s exclusives are going to be worth. And despite my harsh words, I am a long-time Halo fan who has a tremendous amount of memories with the original trilogy.

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