The Next Halo FPS Will Have Split-Screen, Unlike Halo 5
"For any FPS going out forward, we will always have split-screen in."
2015's Halo 5: Guardians did not include any kind of split-screen, something that Microsoft was criticized for. Today, the company confirmed that Halo 6, or whatever the next game in the series is called, will indeed have split-screen support.
This was confirmed by 343 Industries executive Bonnie Ross during a speech at DICE 2017. Ross said not including split-screen in Halo 5 was one of the "painful learnings" that Microsoft faced after taking over ownership of the Halo brand from Bungie.
"For any FPS going out forward, we will always have split-screen in," she said.
Ross also said Halo: The Master Chief Collection's rough launch was another "painful learning" for Microsoft. The company previously referred to this as a "black eye" for the developer.
Struggles like this are "incedible painful for the community and for us--and it erodes trust," she said.
Immediately after Halo 5 came out, Halo franchise director Frank O'Connor said the blowback from the game's lack of split-screen support was "huge." It was technically impossible for 343 to add split-screen to Halo 5 through a patch, O'Connor said.
The game's 60 FPS frame rate is partially responsible for this. When 343 made the decision to have Halo 5 run at a locked 60 FPS, the team did so with the understanding that it would create "some issues" and technical impossibilities for the rest of the game.
The number of people who play Halo games via local split-screen is small relative to the total player base, O'Connor explained.
No new Halo FPS games have been announced. Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently suggested the next Halo FPS will not be released this year, which is no big surprise, given that Halo 5 is not even two years old.
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