Update: It appears that Halo Studios made a "mistake" when communicating the requirements for playing Halo: Campaign Evolved in local co-op, and has clarified today in a statement that a PlayStation Plus subscription is not required to play in this mode, although it does specify that both players need PlayStation accounts to do so.
<social>https://x.com/Halo/status/2068499211868643333</social>
[Original newspiece]
If you're one of many who's looking forward to playing the upcoming Halo: Campaign Evolved in split-screen co-op late next month, it looks like you can expect needing to jump through some unusual hoops.
Halo Studios has detailed how local co-op will work, or rather what you and your play partner will need for local co-op to work at all, in a Q&A posted on Halo WayPoint. PlayStation 5 players looks to get the strictest requirements, since apparently both players will need their own PS Plus subscription and have their PlayStation accounts linked to unique Microsoft accounts.
Xbox Series players doesn't get it much more lenient since both players will need their own Microsoft account. It looks like just having one player with an account and the other joining in as "guest" on the system isn't allowed in the case of Halo: Campaign Evolved.
We think these requirements sound bizarre and weren't sure if we hadn't simply misunderstood part of the messaging, but after reading the following text from Halo Studio themselves it's hard to draw any other conclusion:
"XBOX Series X|S: If you're playing split-screen on an XBOX console, the second player will also need a unique Microsoft account. If you want to play online co-op, you will need an active XBOX Game Pass subscription.
"PlayStation 5: If you're playing split-screen on PlayStation 5, both accounts will need to have PlayStation Plus and be linked to a Microsoft account. Having these active PlayStation Plus subscriptions will also provide access to online co-op play."
It's also stated that Steam user will need to have their account linked to a Microsoft account, but that seems like a more common practice today. However, it does make you think, will it even be possible to play local co-op offline at all?
Does this sound like reasonable requirements for some Halo split-screen to you?