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| Microsoft is ending Halo for Xbox 360 |
Microsoft 343 Industries announced that it will end online services for Halo games over Xbox 360 in December 2021.
This means that Halo 3's online multiplayer game ended 14 years after it first appeared in September 2007.
"Our team is totally focused on the future of Halo," the company said. So far, we have successfully coordinated business and future priorities through continuous maintenance of the Xbox 360 Halo online game service.
She added: "Preserving these old services now takes time and resources, which is not commensurate with the number of people who play games over the Internet."
This directly affects the company's ability to support current and future projects such as Halo: Master Chief Collection and Halo Infinite.
For this reason, 343 Industries now plans to discontinue online services for Halo games via Xbox 360 in December 2021 (about a year later).
The company intends to do so gradually: The first stage dates back more than a year when more than 6 million Xbox 360 user-generated Halo data was transferred to Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
Phase 2 is now beginning and includes reminding players of the remaining schedule and halting digital sales of Halo games on Xbox 360 although digital sales of DLC or DLC continue to remain on the platform.
The third phase contains ongoing information about the shutdown in 2021, and when the fourth phase closes the online Halo gaming service provided through Xbox 360, it all ends.
The shutdown will affect all major Halo games released on Xbox 360 including Halo: Battle Evolution Anniversary, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo 4, Halo: Reach, Halo Wars and Halo Spartan Assault.
Microsoft stated that anyone who owns these games will still be able to access and play them after exiting the online service and knowing that some features will be restricted or removed.
The shutdown will not affect the games in the Halo: Chief Chief or Halo Wars: Final Edition series.