Halo 3 originally launched in September 2007 on Xbox 360, earning rave reviews at the time of its release and named one of the best games in Xbox's flagship franchise. Fast-forward to 2022 and Halo 3 still has its fans, with many returning to the Xbox 360 version of the classic game to play its online multiplayer one last time before the servers were shut off. The Halo 3 Xbox 360 server shutdown became an event in the community, with fans banding together to play one of their favorite games one last time.
The Halo community used the opportunity to help each other out, like in a clip shared by Halo fan micro-wav on Reddit. In the clip, micro-wav is talking to other Halo 3 players on the last day that the game's Xbox 360 servers were online, explaining how his childhood best friend died last summer. According to micro-wav, their fallen friend is the one that showed them Halo in the first place, and they played "so much Halo together."
Micro-wav then asks his fellow Halo 3 players to fire their guns in the air to pay tribute to their "fallen Spartan." Everyone in the clip participates, firing their guns in honor of micro-wav's friend.
This is just one example of how the Halo 3 community banded together in the final moments of the game's Xbox 360 servers. In another example of the Halo 3 community supporting each other, players worked together to help a Halo 3 player get the last achievement they needed before the servers were taken offline.
Halo 3 wasn't the only Xbox 360 Halo game that got its servers shut down. In fact, all the Xbox 360-era Halo games no longer support online matchmaking, including titles like Halo: Reach and Halo 4. Communities for these Halo titles similarly came together to celebrate the games prior to shut down and to help each other out, with the Halo 4 community helping players unlock achievements that they still needed, just like the Halo 3 players did.
It's clear that many gamers have an emotional connection to the Xbox 360 Halo games, and they are sad to see them go. The good news is that the online multiplayer mode for these games and their associated content are still technically accessible through Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. It may be missing popular features like the Halo 3 population map, but it's still a decent way for fans to take a trip down memory lane.
Halo 3 is out now for PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
