On September 1st, the Halo Infinite development team announced that they have officially cancelled their plans to bring split screen co-op campaign to the game in a video outlining their current plan for updating and revitalizing the game through the rest of 2022 and 2023.

The announcements in this video were met with a lot disappointment, yet also plenty of support as a much needed change of course for the way the game has been handled so far.

However, the one thing that fans almost unanimously agree is not a good decision for the game is the cancellation of the planned release of split-screen co-op, a mode of the game that 343 industries has promised to bring back with Halo Infinite on an almost regular basis since at least 2017, after the massive disappointment that Halo 5 brought by lacking the same feature.

Split screen co-op is a game mode that had been a staple of the franchise for over a decade since its inception. Many members of the Halo franchise's player base have formed unforgettable memories between family and friends that they carry with them to this day by playing those fantastic games in split screen co-op with one another.

The author of this petition can attest to the value of co-op split screen, personally. While he was a kid, he had a father that would regularly travel out of town for business, sometimes out of the country for weeks, or even months, at a time. Times when his father was in town were precious moments, not to be spent lightly, and one of the ways they consistently chose to spent those moments was by playing Halo co-op in split screen. This provided a means by which the author got to know and bond with his father while growing up, and it's for that reason that this franchise, and split screen co-op in it, means so much to the author. It's also for that reason that the author, despite having purchased Halo Infinite in support of it, has still not yet played the campaign, and he will continue to refuse to do so until split screen co-op is added so that he may enjoy it for the first time with his father beside him.

This is not a unique story among long-time players of the game. A lot of people purchased Halo Infinite under the impression (from direct promises) that split screen co-op campaign would eventually be added to it. Some people still haven't purchased Halo Infinite at all because they have been waiting for split screen co-op to be added to it.

While the decisions made in the roadmap update video were clearly made with the hearts of the developers in the right place, deciding not to add split screen co-op to the game is a catastrophically bad decision that will have a large impact on the amount of people that might be inclined to return to the game after the Winter Update and during the March 2023 release of season 3. While bringing in new content is incredibly important and necessary for Halo Infinite to be successful, it is also equally important and necessary for that content to restore the same content that fans have already come to know and love. It is for that reason that the author of this petition, and those that have signed it, feel that it is monumentally and integrally important, for the sake of Halo Infinite and the future of Halo as a franchise, that 343 Industries repeals its decision to cancel split screen co-op.

They don't have to do so immediately. They don't even necessarily have to do so with the release of season 3. However, 343 industries owes it to its player base to retain its promise and keep devoting work towards the feature, even if it must be put on hold for now, for however long it takes to get it to work, until it can be released with reasonable quality.

Thank you for your attention, and if you support this petition, please consider sharing it with other friends, family, and Halo fans.