Halo: Campaign Evolved on PS5 requires PS Plus for local split-screen co-op

Halo: Campaign Evolved is coming to PS5 for the first time, but the remake's co-op requirements have already sparked backlash — specifically, that both players need active PlayStation Plus subscriptions just to play split-screen offline missions together.

Halo Studios senior community manager John Junyszek published a community Q&A on Halo Waypoint on June 19 laying out the platform-specific requirements. On Xbox Series X|S, split-screen only needs two Microsoft accounts, and online co-op just requires one active Game Pass Core subscription between the pair. On PS5, both players need a Microsoft account and an individual PS Plus subscription — not just for online co-op, but apparently for local couch co-op as well. Steam only requires linking a Microsoft account.

Game preservation account Does It Play called it "forced DOUBLE ONLINE DRM even for couch co-op," pointing out that players used to just carry saves on a thumb drive. The comparison to Helldivers 2 is hard to ignore — Sony took heavy criticism in 2024 when it tried to mandate PSN account linking for that game on Steam, eventually reversing course after a massive community backlash. Whether this PS Plus requirement was pushed by Sony or Microsoft isn't clear yet, but either way it's an unusual ask for what is, at its core, an offline campaign.

With no reversal announced and the game not yet released, it remains to be seen whether the backlash builds enough pressure to change anything before launch.