A new mode called Spartan Ops is coming to Halo 4. The new mode was revealed in a video interview between GameInformer and 343 Industries' creative director Josh Holmes and lead Spartan Ops designer Chris Haluke. The duo put into detail how the game's co-operative mode is supposed to work.
"One of the big pushes for us with Halo 4 is to completely redefine the Halo multiplayer experience," said Holmes. "And we're doing that in a really important way, in that we've taken multiplayer and contextualized it and set it aboard a vessel called the UNSC Infinity."
"Within this narrative-driven multiplayer experience that we're creating with Infinity multiplayer, one of the new things we're offering is Spartan Ops."
"Spartan Ops is our episodic, co-op adventure where we have a highly story-driven—almost mini-campaigns that the player is involved with, working its way from an overarching linear story brought down into episodes and from there individual missions," said Haluke.
Holmes added: "Basically the way it works is that each week, we have a new episode of a linear series that takes place aboard the UNSC Infinity. And we'll introduce players to a number of new characters, and the ship itself that we think of as a character."
Each weekly episode will contain five missions that are tied into that episode, and players can participate in the on-going narrative of Spartan Ops throughout the game's lifespan. The rewards and unlocks that you earn throughout Spartan Ops for your character can be carried over into the competitive multiplayer side of Halo 4.
"We're expecting it to be a full campaign in size and we want to add as much value to the Spartan Ops program," said Haluke.