For Halo 3 fans, this month brought mixed emotions as the curtain was closed on the legacy Halo 3 servers. As the online services came to a halt, Halo players found comfort reflecting on nostalgic memories of past games, friends, and rivals. One Halo fan shared a heartwarming message they received from a fellow player, capturing the tone of the end of an era for Halo fans.
Halo 3 was released to critical acclaim in late 2007 by Microsoft Game Studios, the final installment in the original trilogy developed by Bungie. The campaign mode could be played cooperatively with three other players via Xbox Live. It also included game modes like ‘capture the flag’, which could be played in groups of sixteen. Such was the excitement for Halo 3, Bill Gates famously signed and sold the first physical copy of the game at a Best Buy store in Washington. It has subsequently been listed as one of the greatest games of all time by fans and critics alike.
Posting to the /r/halo/ community on Reddit, user TheYoungCalves shared a message sent to their father, who had been playing with the gametag Golden Ox. It came from a rival in Halo 3 after the game's servers shut down. The player went on to apologize for “any beef” they had, and thanked him for being their last rival in the game. Golden Ox had been playing the Xbox 360 version of Halo 3 for 14 years.
In December, 343 Industries announced they would shutdown legacy Xbox 360 servers for older Halo games, bringing an end to the 14 years of full online services for the game. The decision was a practical one, with the original Xbox 360 released 17 years ago, and the final model almost a decade old. While players can still enjoy online services in Halo: The Master Chief Collection, the original online experience is now a thing of the past. For Halo fans, the Xbox 360 experience was unique, as expressed by Reddit user I_Like_Halo_Games:
Halo 3 on 360 was more to a lot of us than just a game, maps, or modes. It had a social aspect that hadn't been matched by any 343 endeavor, with pre and post game lobbies, custom games and forge at launch, etc. It launched before Discord, before even voice parties were big, so those pre and post game lobbies were always energetic. You made friends and enemies quick, and they'd stick with you sometimes for years and years.
In a follow-up message posted to Reddit, TheYoungCalves explained that their father, who is 60 years old and retired, is such an avid gamer that he wears out Xbox controllers every several months. He has played subsequent Halo games and owns Halo: The Master Chief Collection, but kept returning to Halo 3, preferring its multiplayer system. Allegedly, he was infamous among the dwindling online player base, and enjoyed the banter.
Over the past month, Halo fans have been sharing their thoughts and memories about the original games on social media. Some fans returned to play the games before the servers shut down for good, with one player recording the moment the online services for Halo: Reach ended. While it can be sad to see support end for old games as past consoles fade into obsolescence, it also represents the move to next-gen consoles, and remastered versions of beloved classics.
While the golden age of Halo on Xbox 360 has ended, Halo fans have a lot to be excited for. In December, Xbox Game Studios published Halo Infinite, the sixth main installment in the Halo series. The original games can still be enjoyed, completed with online services, as part of the Halo: The Master Chief Collection. As for Golden Ox, his son reports that he’s been enjoying Halo Infinite, and has also been playing the latest Sniper Elite.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection is available now for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.