Xbox 360 Halo servers will now shut down in January 2022

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343 Industries has announced a minor adjustment to the planned sunsetting of Halo game servers for Xbox 360. Where online matchmaking and other functionality had been planned to end in December 2021, the new date for the server shut down is now 13th January 2022.

The following Xbox 360 games are affected:

  • Halo: Reach
  • Halo 4
  • Halo 3
  • Halo 3: ODST
  • Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
  • Spartan Assault
  • Halo Wars

After that time, all of the games will still be playable in single player and with some local multiplayer options, but the central Xbox Live servers will be giving you the cold shoulder. Here’s the breakdown of the exact game-by-game impact.

Halo 360 server sunset

It’s worth noting that, while the recreation isn’t always completely, 100% perfect, all of the mainline Halo games are available through Halo: The Master Chief Collection. You also have Halo Wars Definitive Edition and Spartan Assault with Xbox One releases. None of these games on current hardware (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One or PC) are affected.

When announced the sunsetting plans last December, 343 Industries noted that the player counts across all of these games had dwindled to the point that continuing to maintain the game servers would take resources away from maintaining Halo: TMCC and the upcoming Halo Infinite.

343 Industries are obviously throwing a huge amount of resources at finishing off Halo Infinite and launching what is hoped to be the biggest campaign and multiplayer experience the series has ever seen. Due out on 8th December 2021 across Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC, Halo Infinite will have an open world campaign and a free to play multiplayer component, but key features like co-op campaign and Forge will be missing at launch.

Yesterday gave us the first look at Halo Infinite’s campaign in over a year, showcasing the revised graphical style, giving us more details on the open world and Master Chief’s suit upgrades, as well as the story and the enemies he will face. Read all about it here, or watch the trailer below.

Source: Halo Waypoint

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