When Halo: Combat Evolved is coming to PlayStation, it should be cause for celebration. As a result, the first thing players discussed was not the picture quality or the gameplay, but the account number. According to the latest news, if PS5 players want to use the two-player split-screen co-op mode in “Halo: Combat Evolved” in the future, one of the players will still have to log in to a Microsoft account to play. While no additional subscription to PlayStation Plus or Xbox Game Pass is required, the requirement still sparked a lot of discussion.
Even though we are sitting on the same sofa, we still have to log in to our account first?
According to the information currently exposed, the PS5 version of “Halo: Combat Evolved” supports local two-player split screen. However, when a second player joins the game, they will be asked to log in with a Microsoft account. In other words, even if two players are already sitting in front of the same console and playing on the same screen, they cannot directly pick up the controller and press the start button to join as in the past.
This design quickly sparked discussion in the player community. After all, the local cooperation mode has always been regarded as the purest “friends come to play games at home” experience. Now even this mode requires an additional login account, which inevitably makes some players feel a little confused.
Microsoft’s cross-platform strategy continues
In fact, in recent years, Microsoft has gradually taken the Xbox ecosystem in a cross-platform direction. From “Minecraft” and “Sea of Thieves” to recent Xbox first-party titles that have landed on other platforms, many games require players to bind a Microsoft account. The official reasons are usually to facilitate cross-platform friends, archive synchronization, achievement system and subsequent service integration. It’s not difficult to understand from a business perspective, but for players who are used to plug-and-play consoles, it still feels like “I clearly bought a PS5 game, why do I have to log in to another platform account first?”
At least you don’t have to pay extra membership fees
The good news is that current information indicates that local split-screen does not require a PlayStation Plus or other online membership. As long as you complete the Microsoft account login process, you can play cooperative games normally. Therefore, what really causes controversy is not the payment issue, but the account binding itself. To some extent, it also proves one thing: Microsoft may no longer be obsessed with bringing players to Xbox consoles, but they still want to bring players into their own ecosystem.