'Halo 5: Guardians': No Split Screen Multiplayer, No Big Team Battle Mode? — Find Out 343 Industries' Response

It seems that the Big Team Battle (BTB) for "Halo 5: Guardians" is a no go. Gamespot reported that there won't be any launch that's going to happen this October.

The 343 Industries executive producer Josh Holmes responded to the growing concerns. There may not be a BTB, but "Halo 5" has Warzone gameplay.

Announced during the E3 event, the 12v12 mode will feature the biggest map in the history of Halo franchise, with four times the size of other previous maps. Holmes said that Warzone was the evolution of BTB.

On the other hand, if it does not satisfy the players, 343 Industries plans to add more traditional BTB mode post-launch. The exact release date for the said BTB mode was not provided.

Another concern with the new game was the split-screen support. Apparently, "Halo 5: Guardians" will not be featuring it.

Many fans have reacted, some protested particularly on social media. Frank O'Connor, 343 Industries' franchise development director, said that it was not possible to add the feature.

He responded to a fan's tweet asking to bring the feature back to "Halo 5," saying, "If we could do it, we would do it. But it is what they call "nontrivial."

The split-screen, according to Holmes, was ultimately sacrificed because the demands the development team placed on the hardware jus would not support it, the environment was too massive, the AI behaviour is too perplexed, plus the enhanced visual and gameplay fidelity, IGN learned.

"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," Holmes said.

"Game development is a balancing act of resources, time and technology, and in this case we made the tough decision to sacrifice something that's been near and dear to us all," he added.

Despite the provided explanation, many are still bothered by the company's decision. However, according to an article posted on Forbes, no matter how many petition people sign or hashtags used, it appears that the decision was made early in the process.

"Halo 5: Guardians" will be released on Oct. 27 exclusively for Microsoft's Xbox One.

Real Time Analytics