Halo Infinite's Campaign Co-Op Beta Now Live: How To Join
It's finally here: the "Halo Infinite" co-op beta is now open, and you can begin testing it right away. The lead-up to this has been rather long — after all, the game first went live in December 2021, but players have been unable to engage in co-op gameplay in the months since. Many might argue that the ability to tackle various missions with your friends is one of the cornerstones of the "Halo" franchise, so it's great to see it finally make it to the beta version of the game, to be implemented in the real deal once 343 Industries (the game studio behind "Halo Infinite") is satisfied with the results. The beta is only here for a limited time, though, and not all of the features are available for testing just yet.
First announced on the "Halo" Twitter account, the beta is live for both PC and Xbox players, and it fully supports crossplay. This means that if you and your buddies all play on separate platforms, it's not an issue and you'll still be able to connect. Up to four players can play through the "Halo Infinite" campaign in its entirety, as the whole game is available for testing on the beta servers. Unfortunately, your progress from the beta won't carry over to the live version of "Halo Infinite." On the other hand, all forward progress is going to be saved within the beta, so you'll be able to resume your gameplay with or without your whole team. The same goes for collectibles.
Mission Replay is also arriving with the beta, adding a much-needed feature that lets you go back to previously completed missions and replay them, be it for fun or for Skull hunting. However, three expected features are not ready to test yet: multiplayer, Academy, and customization.
How to join the co-op beta for 'Halo Infinite'
Joining the beta is fairly simple, but if you didn't sign up for it previously, you may not receive an invitation. The "Halo Infinite" beta is available to players who already own the retail version of the campaign. This also includes the players with an Xbox Game Pass or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. In order to try the co-op, you'll also have to have an active Xbox Live Gold subscription, but if you already have the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, rest easy — Live Gold is bundled with it. This round of beta testing will conclude on August 1 at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET.
If you want to try out the beta on Xbox, you can find the download in the Xbox Insider Hub app. You'll find it under Previews on the left-hand side menu. Keep in mind that you'll first have to sign in with the gamer tag that you initially used to sign up for the "Halo" Insider program, which was required to join the beta. The "Halo" team detailed the entire process of installation on an Xbox on its website, so make sure to check it out if you're running into any problems.
Players who want to play through Steam will only be able to try the beta if they were able to sign up for the "Halo" Insider program in time. Before you can jump in, you'll have to get the game key for the beta on the "Halo" Insider Active Flights website. If you can't find your beta key there, it means you haven't received it, and as per the official Steam installation instructions, "Halo" Support won't be giving out keys at this time.