Halo 5: Guardians, while looking to be one of the best in the series, will be the first to refrain from supporting split-screen multiplayer. It's a huge loss for gamers, and the developer knows this very well.
What's the reason for the decision to do away with split-screen multiplayer?
343 Industries wanted to create an ambitious Halo title, and it seems the Xbox One just wasn't powerful enough to do that along with split-screen multiplayer all at the same time.
"With Halo 5 we are delivering massive scale environments, improved AI behavior, increased visual and gameplay fidelity," 343 Industries posted on Halo Waypoint. "[S]omething that truly takes advantage of a new platform."
"Many of our ambitious goals for Halo 5 would be compromised in a split-screen setting and the time spent optimizing and addressing split-screen-specific issues would take focus from building other parts of the game," the developer added.
Due to the removal of split-screen, many gamers have vowed to stay away from the game because they wouldn't be able to play with their friends and family on a single console.
It's indeed an enormous loss to both gamers, but it could be a boon for the industry because now, some gamers might have to purchase an extra Xbox One console and multiple versions of Halo 5 to play with friends and family online.
We should point out that this move has further cemented online multiplayer gaming as the best option for gamers right now. Split-screen multiplayer with friends in the same room will always be superior due to the atmosphere, but right now, it appears as if only Nintendo supports it.
Still, the developer did say that if gamers wanted split-screen multiplayer enough, the developer could add it later as a patch. Maybe getting it up and running before launch was becoming too difficult, and as such, they chose to kick it to the curb until after launch.
We hope that there comes a time when split-screen multiplayer is a thing that gamers and developers alike adore. Sure, it is old school, but online multiplayer doesn't have the same feeling.
