Bad news for people with friends. It looks like the all new Halo title, Halo 5: Guardians will not support split screen play. That is right. In an effort to either milk more money out of gamers, or to provide the “best visual experience,” 343 has eliminated the experience of playing the game with someone on the same couch. Fan obviously have not taken too well to this, with some canceling their pre-order. Fans have even started a Change.org petion calling for Microsoft to fix the problem.
Ars Technica is reporting that a spokesperson for Microsoft has reached out to them, with a statement confirming that split screen has been pulled from the games:
"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. 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."
A Change.org petion is calling out Microsoft and 343 Industries, demanding that the problem be fixed:
“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”
What do you think of the news? Does this put a damper on your gaming plans? Will you be boycotting the game until split-screen is added? Let us know your thoughts on the subject in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
