Many Halo fans' best memories are playing Halo 3 and Halo Reach multiplayer on their Xbox 360s. It seems Halo really was thriving in its golden age during these years, and finally, Microsoft will putting those services to rest. This month Microsoft will be sunsetting the online servers that housed so many memories for so many gamers. It truly is the end of an era for Halo and Xbox 360.
All Halo games that have housed online services on Xbox 360 will be shutting down come January 13, 2022. These games include Halo 3, Halo 3 ODST, Halo Reach, Halo 4, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo Wars, and Halo Spartan Assault. That being said, some aspects of online for these games will be kept intact such as online squads. However, when it comes to everything else concerning multiplayer such as matchmaking and online-based achievements, it will be gone come the 13th. If anyone has any achievements they would like to wrap up, there are 13 days left to do so.
Microsoft has posted a chart containing all the specificities for the sunsetting of Xbox 360 services that can be checked out over at Windows Central. Microsoftaccompanied the post with saying that to date, juggling future projects while also keeping these online servers for decades-old Halo games alive has taken significant resources from the team. Xbox wants to be able to use these resources for games such as The Master Chief Collection and Halo Infinite moving forward, thus forcing the decision of the shutdown of these servers.
The good news is that gamers will still be able to get their classic Halo multiplayer fix in through The Master Chief Collection on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. The multiplayer for games such as Halo 3 and Halo 4 are still alive and thriving on the collection and will no doubt continue to be supported for many more years to come. The Master Chief Collection is also available through Xbox Game Pass, ensuring that access to Halo's most prominent history is widely available to as many as it can be.
While it is sad that Halo's golden age is officially in the rearview mirror, 343 Industries and its release of Halo Infinite is paving a new way for one of gaming's most historic franchises. With how well Infinite has been received critically and commercially for both its campaign and multiplayer aspects, Halo is back on the rise in the gamer consciousness. Hopefully a second golden age for Halo is on the horizon.