Halo 5: Guardians Release Date and Preview: No More Split-Screen Mode

By Komfie Manalo
Halo 5: Guardians
Halo 5: Guardians Microsoft

Microsoft and 343 Industries have confirmed the release of Halo 5: Guardians on October 27, 2015 but the next installment of the popular gunplay eliminated the split-screen campaign, meaning players cannot play the game with a friend sitting beside a couch.

During the E3 Convention last month, Microsoft provided loyal fans a preview of Halo 5: Guardians' Warzone multiplayer mode, a game-type that incorporates everything nice about the game's multiplayer into some really epic online matches.

It was also during the Electronic Entertainment Expo event when 343 disappointed loyal fans of the megahit Halo games with the announcement it was backtracking from its previous commitment about split-screen in the game's campaign mode. Halo 5: Guardians' campaign mode will revolve around four-player co-op play, said Ars Tecnica.

A spokesperson for Microsoft told Ars Technica that Halo 5: Guardians will not support LAN play. "The decision [to remove all split-screen modes] was an extremely difficult one for the team, but one that was necessary to deliver the biggest Halo game to date," the representative wrote in a statement. "343's focus is to ensure that fans get the best Halo experience yet, and the team felt a split-screen experience would compromise the gameplay design and the visual bar they've set," the Microsoft executive said.

This decision did not sit well with fans of Halo as some of them reportedly cancelled their pre-orders. Indeed, fans have started a petition at Change.org to urge Microsoft and 343 Industries to correct the error.

The petition, addressed to Microsoft and the developers of Halo 5, reads: "You have disappointed many fans of Halo, by removing local split-screen co-op from Halo 5:Guardians. Local Co-Op was a feature Halo had from the beginning and many started playing Halo because of that feature.

"Split-Screen Co-Op enables us to play with friends that don't have an Xbox and with family in the same house, on the same Xbox. Removing this feature, removes the ability to play together and fully enjoy Halo. Since the beginning, I have played Halo with a family member and now I'll be forced to play alone. This goes for many of the fans.

"Also, many people don't have access to Xbox Live Gold, and now they're forced to enjoy Halo alone. We, together as a Halo community sincerely ask you to bring back local split-screen co-op to Halo 5: Guardians as it was and will be a crucial social aspect of the game"

In the official web site of Halo 5, 343 Industries described the storyline of Halo's next installment, "Peace is shattered when colony worlds are unexpectedly attacked. But when humanity's greatest hero goes missing, a new Spartan is tasked with hunting the Master Chief and solving a mystery that threatens the entire galaxy.

"A mysterious and unstoppable force threatens the galaxy while the Master Chief is missing and his loyalty questioned. Experience the most dramatic Halo story to date in a 4-player cooperative epic that spans three worlds."

You can pre-order Halo 5: Guardians here.

A Limited Collector's Edition, the ultimate expression of Halo 5: Guardians with a commemorative statue designed by 343 Industries is also available. The Master Chief and Spartan Locke appear as a team - but there's another story ... the statue splits and they separate, ready to face-off. Which scene tells the true story? The Limited Collector's Edition contains a full game download and the following Limited Edition content:

  • Warzone REQ Bundle: 14 Premium Requisition pack
  • Halo: The Fall of Reach - Animated Series
  • Guardian model by Metal Earth
  • Uniquely-designed Spartan themed SteelBook
  • Spartan Locke's Classified Orders
  • Dossiers on Blue Team and Fireteam Osiris
  • Xbox Live Gold 14-day Trial - perfect for playing with friends
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