In case you haven't heard, Halo 5: Guardians is lacking a major feature that's been part of the franchise since its beginning. There's no splitscreen for multiplayer or co-op play.

Fans were shocked to discover it missing in Halo 5, particularly since the game relies so heavily on four-member team-based combat. Petitions have been launched asking 343 Industries to add it back in, and Internet forums are overrun with angry gamers talking about little else.

So why was it taken out of the game? According to 343's franchise development director Frank O'Connor, splitscreen wasn't possible if they wanted to keep Halo 5 running at 60 frames-per-second. And despite all of the outcry and petitions, O'Connor told Games Radar that there's no way to put it back now.

"Realistically, for Halo 5, it's not something we can just throw in a patch," he said. "It's just not feasible with the way the [game] engine works."

So it's gone, and it's not coming back anytime soon.

That said, O'Connor said that the complaints have been far too many for 343 to ignore. Admitting that he enjoys splitscreen himself, O'Connor said that they're already "talking about it for the next game," aka Halo 6.

Never let it be said that gamer feedback always falls on deaf ears.

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