Posted in: Games, Halo, Microsoft, Video Games | Tagged: 343 industries, halo, halo 3, halo: Reach, xbox

The Classic Halo Titles Will Have Their Servers Shut Down This Month

Published Mon, 03 Jan 2022 10:54:11 -0600

Last updated Mon, 03 Jan 2022 10:54:20 -0600

343 Industries and Xbox Game Studios will be putting an end to an era for Halo this month as they will be shutting down the classic servers. Not everything lasts forever, but gamers will attempt to make sure it does, as there are still hardcore players who have been enjoying Halo 3, Halo 3 ODST, and Halo Reach to this day as the servers for both of the games have been kept active. It may not be at the numbers they were having back in the heyday of either title's launch, but it's not like they've been kept active because Xbox and the devs just forgot about them.

Halo artwork (Credit: 343 Industries) — Credit: 343 Industries

Well, those servers will finally be coming down as it feels much like an end of an era for several titles. 343 Industries made the announcement that all of the Halo titles released on the Xbox 360 would slowly have their servers switched off, with the final date being January 13th, 2022. The games affected, as you can see by this handy graphic they put together, includes Halo 3, Halo 3 ODST, Halo Reach, Halo 4, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo Wars, and Halo Spartan Assault. To be clear, this does not include the Master Chief Collection, as all of those games have been modernized and added to a completely different setup by 343, so those of you who are enjoying blasting each other away on one of these games through the MCC will still be able to enjoy it.

The Classic Halo Titles Will Have Their Servers Shut Down This Month — Credit: 343 Industries

It's sad, but it's something that needs to happen because, while we do respect those who have been keeping the flame for their 360 burning somewhere online, keeping those servers active as more people move onto the Xbox Series X or even just the Xbox One makes it kind of pointless to keep running. On the bright side, if you still own a 360 and have one of these games laying around in your library, you got 10 days to get some extra traction out of the online content you probably paid a lot of money for at some point. So call your pals and let them know whatever night of the week their kids are playing Valorant is the night you return to Reach to reclaim what's yours.

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