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Halo: Campaign Evolved is shipping Master Chief off into the gravitational pull of the chonky PS5, but PlayStation folks looking to play the remake via split-screen or online co-op should expect some stricter requirements, at least compared to the Xbox Series X|S version.
Halo Studios' shiny remake looks to faithfully recreate the 2001 classic's campaign with a new coat of paint, some series' favorite weapons retrospectively added in, three-new prequel missions, a bunch of skull modifiers, and many more changes. But it wouldn't be classic Halo without co-op, so Campaign Evolved supports two-player split-screen co-op and four-player online co-op as well.
PS5 players won't have a totally smooth ride when trying to get two Master Chiefs on the same couch, though. In the lead up to the game's launch next month, the developer shared some of the game's co-op requirements.
"Just as you do today for Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Halo Infinite to ensure smooth cross-platform progression, to play Halo: Campaign Evolved you will need a Microsoft account and XBOX Gamertag, regardless of the platform(s) you play on," community manager John Junyszek writes in a new blog post. "This enables both cross-platform play and cross-platform progression."
On PS5 specifically, both split-screen players will need to have an active PlayStation Plus membership and a linked Microsoft account. Steam players will only need to link to a Microsoft account, while Xbox Series X|S players will only need an active Game Pass subscription if they want to play online, as expected.
The PS5 requirements are somewhat surprising because couch co-op normally isn't paywalled behind a PSN subscription - online and multiplayer is - and local co-op is such an integral part of how Halo travels between friends and family and generations. I imagine needing two paid PSN memberships will make casually sharing the game on a sofa more of a hassle than it should be.
On the subject of co-op, Halo Studios also detailed how mission difficulty will scale "appropriately depending on how many people you have in your lobby." Having more Master Chiefs running about could impact the number of enemies in encounters, the rank of those enemies, and their intelligence which can affects their aim or how often they flank. Though these factors are also dependent on the difficulty you choose, too.
Halo: Campaign Evolved releases in full on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and Game Pass on July 28.
While you're here, check out our interview with the developers to learn how Halo: Campaign Evolved reignites Halo's longest-running argument
