Halo: Campaign Evolved isn’t far away now and marks the debut of Halo on a PlayStation console, launching on PlayStation 5 along with all other platforms.
Last night, Halo Studios published a detailed Q&A about Halo Waypoint covering what fans can expect at launch.. I’ve already covered some of the biggest announcements elsewhere, but one detail in particular has left fans online, myself included, absolutely baffled.
That detail is Halo: Campaign Evolved’s split-screen requirements on PlayStation 5, and no, Halo fans aren’t just upset because they’re Halo fans.
On Xbox, split screen works as expected, although both players need a Microsoft account. You can enjoy cooperative mode from the couch without the need to Xbox Game Pass; However, on the PlayStation side, it’s a little more complicated. According to Halo Studios, to do couch co-op, where two players play on a console in split screen, both players will need to have a PSN account, which must be linked to a Microsoft account, and both must also have an active PlayStation+ subscription.
So to play offline with a friend on the same console, both players must be actively subscribed to PlayStation Plus. That’s absolutely beyond stupid, isn’t it?
Surely most people can agree that it’s not unreasonable to criticize, and I don’t think Halo fans are expecting too much here. This is Halo’s first debut on PlayStation, and requiring two active subscriptions just to enjoy local split-screen is completely at odds with what couch co-op is supposed to be.
I’m fully aware that split-screen probably represents a minority of gamers these days, but that’s beside the point. The problem is not how many people use the feature; It’s the principle of locking local multiplayer behind two paid subscriptions.
To me, this just reeks of poor decision making at some point, or maybe even a rushed one. Could this be related in some way to sonyInfrastructure or account requirements? Maybe. It’s possible, especially if the game must always be online, but I find it highly unlikely.
Look, I’m excited for Halo: Evolved Campaignand I will purchase it on both PC and Xbox. That doesn’t change the fact that this situation sucks for PlayStation players, and I really hope Halo Studios or whoever is responsible for this can fix it before launch.
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