343 Shutting Down Xbox 360 Online Services For Several Halo Games In January

This morning, Halo fans were treated to immoderate bully quality acknowledgment to a Halo Infinite livestream detailing that game’s campaign. On the flip side, 343 Industries besides reminded players of its plans to unopen down the Xbox 360 online services for a slew of Halo titles, pushing backmost its archetypal December execution to January. 

343 primitively announced plans to bash this successful December of 2020. The program is to cease the 360 online services for the pursuing titles: 

• Halo 3
• Halo 3: ODST
• Halo Reach
• Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
• Halo Wars
• Halo: Spartan Assault.

This was expected to instrumentality spot this December but volition present hap connected January 13, 2022. When this happens, features specified arsenic online matchmaking volition either beryllium disabled oregon severely constricted for each crippled affected. Yes, this includes playing them connected Xbox One oregon Series X/S via backwards compatibility. According to the Halo Waypoint post (which you should work for a afloat breakdown of however this each works) owners of these games volition inactive beryllium capable to play them offline “indefinitely.”  

343’s crushed for doing this is to absorption connected the aboriginal of the Halo series. In summation to launching Halo Infinite this December, it besides plans to proceed updating Halo: The Master Chief Collection (including its gradual migration to PC). According to 343, juggling Halo Infinite and the MCC portion maintaining online services for several legacy Halo titles “requires important clip and resources, which straight impacts the studio’s quality to enactment existent and aboriginal projects similar Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Halo Infinite.”

“Every rhythm spent maintaining and supporting Xbox 360 bequest services is clip and vigor not spent connected the aboriginal of Halo,” reads the blog post.

343 began rolling retired the sunsetting successful 4 phases, starting successful 2019. Last December, it halted aboriginal income of Halo games connected 360, for example. We’re presently successful the 3rd phase, which is updated messaging, with the 4th being the shutdown adjacent year, naturally. Earlier this year, the archetypal Halo.Bungie.net website went offline for good, truthful this year has been an extremity of an epoch of sorts for longtime Halo fans. 

[Source: Halo Waypoint via Video Games Chronicle]