Good news! Starting July 11, you’ll be able to play Halo Infinite online with up to three friends as part of a beta test. And even better, you’ll be able to replay missions from the campaign, too. However, here’s the bad news: This is a limited-time test of only 10 days. And you’ll need to restart the entire campaign to play online with others.
As announced earlier this month, Halo Infinite devs 343 Industries are preparing to launch a short but large-scale campaign co-op test for Halo Infinite. If you don’t remember, this latest entry in the sci-fi shooter series was the first to launch without any campaign co-op mode after 343 delayed it last year. Since then, the plan has been to add co-op to the game during its second season. This will be a 10-day test, running from July 11 to July 21 on Xbox and PC, and it’s the next step toward co-op and other campaign features finally being added to the game.
If you are interested in checking out the co-op beta in Halo Infinite, you’ll need to jump through a few hoops. First, you’ll need to be a registered Halo Insider. You’ll also need to own the game or be a Game Pass subscriber. Here are the full steps from 343:
Step 1: Make sure you’re signed up to the Halo Insider program.
Step 2: Ensure you have the entitlement to Halo Infinite (Campaign). (i.e. you have purchased it or have an active Xbox Game Pass subscription)
Step 3: If you’re participating on Xbox, have the Xbox Insider app downloaded, and opt into the Network Co-Op flight program once the flight is live. If you’re playing on Steam, you’ll be sent a unique key via Halo Insider communications to download the flighting build.
Step 4: Launch the build, party up with friends, and jump into Zeta Halo!
Players should check the settings in Halo Insider to be sure they’re set to receive the code for their platform of choice, PC, Xbox, or both. Once in, players will also be able to replay missions using the in-game tac-map. Again, another feature that was always found in past Halo games but was missing at Infinite’s launch. Like co-op, this is just a limited-time test that ends on July 11.
Something to note is that you’ll need to download a brand new and separate test build of Halo Infinite’s campaign. None of your progress from the retail version will carry over to this test and, likewise, none of your progress made in the test will carry back over to the actual game. That means you’ll need to restart from the beginning, but that’s probably what most folks will want to do when they team up with friends later this month.
Read More: Top Halo Pro Stops Playing In Protest Against Own Team
Halo Infinite will support full crossplay co-op, meaning an Xbox One player, Xbox Series X user, PC player, and someone streaming the game on their phone can all play together. For those wondering, yes, you will all be Master Chief clones. Some may hate this, but I love it. What’s funnier than four Chiefs jumping into a Warthog to fuck up some shit? Not much, I say.
As of a recent roadmap, the plan is for campaign co-op to be added to the game fully in August. This test will help determine how feasible that plan will be. So once this test ends on July 21, it shouldn’t be too long of a wait for co-op, assuming things go smoothly.
