343 Industries is shutting down servers for Halo games on the Xbox 360 in the upcoming January. However, players will still be able to play the campaigns and access other offline features of the game. Still, features such as the service record in Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST will no longer be available starting January 2022.
Halo is not the first game whose services will be shut down; previously, famous titles such as the original Star Wars Battlefront have also been shut down. Shutting down older games is not something new. Usually, gaming companies take this step to move forward and accommodate newer, more modern games.
In a blog post, 343 Industries mentioned that Halo games on Xbox 360 would go offline on January 13, 2022. “The end of an era draws near as we get close to the end of the line for legacy Halo Xbox 360 services,” a new post on the official Halo blog reads. “Online services will be discontinued on January 13, 2022.” Apparently, this move will be applicable to seven different titles in the Halo franchise, including Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo Reach, Halo 4, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo Spartan Assault, and Halo Wars. The end of online support was announced back in December 2020, but at that time, only a vague timeline was given as to when exactly this move will take place. It is important to mention that while all the online functions will be disabled, all the offline content will still be available to the players.
343 Industries is currently developing Halo Infinite, which is slotted for release on December 8, 2021. Moreover, the studio is also working on developing Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which currently is in the eighth season. Online features for the Master Chief Collection are currently available.
