Halo Infinite campaign co-op will not offer online matchmaking even after the mode leaves beta.
A representative for Xbox confirmed as much in a statement to 12DOVE, while also recommending some familiar alternatives to matchmaking.
"Online matchmaking will not be available with final co-op," the statement reads. "We encourage you to continue to use the Halo LFG and the new Discord voice call feature on Xbox to find players to party up with as you continue playing the beta."
In case you missed the news, this statement is referring to the addition of Discord voice chat to the app's Xbox feature set. Previously, connecting your Xbox and Discord accounts just let the latter display your game activity and gamertag, but as of July 20, Xbox Insiders can transfer voice calls from Discord to their Xbox Series X or Xbox One via the platform's mobile app. The feature is currently limited to insider testing, but a broader release is planned for later this year.
It is nice to finally have Discord voice chat on Xbox, but setting it up is pretty convoluted, and it's not clear how the option to transfer existing voice calls would help Halo Infinite players find people to play with. It could make communicating easier, assuming both parties already use Discord and are in the same Halo server, but as our own Alyssa Mercante wrote in her Halo Infinite co-op impressions, the limiting factor for campaign co-op is really the looking part of Looking For Groups.
What is clear is that if you don't already have friends to play with, finding a group of Master Chiefs to run the campaign with is going to take some third-party legwork.
Here's how to get into the Halo Infinite campaign co-op beta.
