All Xbox 360 Halo Games Are Officially Being Shut Down

Microsoft and developer 343 Industries have announced that all Xbox 360 Halo titles will officially be shut down from December 2021 onwards.

This will be the culmination of a four phase approach to ‘sunsetting’ the game services, which began in the Autumn of 2019 with a one-time migration of more than six million pieces of Halo Xbox 360 Legacy UGC data to Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

We are currently in phase two, which involves the initial notification of players as well as the halting of digital sales of Halo Xbox 360 titles. For now, Halo Xbox 360 DLC may still be acquired without any cost.

As announced in a blog post on Halo Waypoint, phase three will be rolled out in 2021, and will involve ‘continued messaging and reminders’ of the shutdown throughout the year via Halo channels.

According to this post, the month over month usage of legacy Xbox games has continued to ‘dwindle’: 

That’s not to say we don’t value and care about everyone who plays Halo – we absolutely do. But, as with any business, our teams must continually weigh needs against available resources (time, people, expertise, etc.) and prioritize on areas and opportunities that yield the greatest impact.

As these games continue to age, and as improved modern replacements for many of these experiences have moved to the forefront, less and less people are investing time in the original legacy titles.

The fourth and final phase will see Halo Xbox 360 legacy services being turned off. The date for this has yet to be decided, however this last stage in the sunsetting process will reportedly occur no sooner than one year on from the date of the blog post (December 18).

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