Update: Co-op mode may not be coming for a while, but you can still enjoy the story. Read our "Halo Infinite" review for more details

For years, one of the great pleasures of the "Halo" series was the ability to play campaign mode with up to three friends. However, that feature will not be available in "Halo Infinite," which will be released next month and is apparently at least six months away.

Joseph Staten, head of creative for "Halo Infinite," told Eurogamer that the feature is set for Season 2 of "Halo Infinite." And as previously announced, Season 2 has been delayed by three months, to May 2022.

Forge, the user-creation tool, is planned for even later in Season 3, with no ETA as of yet.

"When we talked about Campaign Co-op and Forge, I said our goal is to ship Campaign Co-op in Season 2 and our goal is to ship Forge in Season 3," Staten told Eurogamer. 'Yes, we will extend Season 1. So it doesn't change what we said before that our goal is to ship Campaign Co-op in Season 2 and Forge in Season 3."

So, six months is a conservative estimate. Also, these plans are subject to change.

"They are still goals. Because other things, like this multiplayer beta, may become a higher priority."

However, Staten explained that both features "have to be delivered to the fans" of the game, so there is no need to worry about them falling into vaporware territory. He added, "Campaign Co-op and the Forge toolset are really big promises that need to be fulfilled."

So while "Halo Infinite" will launch on December 8 and will not feature a co-op mode, it will likely be polished enough when it arrives. And "Halo Infinite" will not be short on content for the next six months or so; the delay is not such a bitter pill to swallow, as I would rather wait for a co-op mode to be made than for it to be a rush job and not much fun.

Halo Infinite's free-to-play multiplayer mode appeared along with the final batch of backwards compatible games during Microsoft's streaming celebration of Xbox's 20th anniversary. Early impressions were so good that phone editor Jordan Palmer was generous with his praise after playing for a few days; not only is Halo Infinite's multiplayer a lot of fun, but it's the best multiplayer mode in the series' history," he wrote.

Hopefully the campaign mode, which launches on December 8, will rival this experience--even if it will be a solo experience until next year.