Halo's franchise has spanned multiple generational platforms and, though many of its games' live servers are outdated or redundant, its titles are still cherished by players. In the meantime, 343 Industries continues to prepare for the sunset of its Xbox 360 legacy services that will no longer allow online services for Halo titles from that generation.
Of course, mainline Halo entries are still playable with performance and visual enhancements thanks to Halo: The Master Chief Collection. But for players who have a nostalgic connection to the Xbox 360, such as fans who enjoy participating in local LAN parties with others, this news is still received with a heavy heart. However, Halo Support from 343 Industries recently shared a minor update to their previously slated sunsetting schedule that may appease nostalgic players who hope to hang onto these games on outdated platforms.
Halo Support has notified fans that the Xbox 360 legacy services for its older Halo titles will remain online for another month than they were previously meant to, and are now scheduled to officially shut off on January 13, 2022. While this date change is not hugely significant and does not necessarily prolong the servers' sunsetting that much, it may give players extra time to wrap up any achievements or other tasks they had planned that require online connectivity.
Halo Support argues that the priority of 343 Industries for the future of the Halo franchise is to look forward to future developments rather than having to also mind the archaic network features of older platform generations. This should be a balm for fans who hope for Halo Infinite to have all the support and concentration that its development demands in order for it to ship with the quality that players deserve, whether that is because of its single-player campaign or its multiplayer endeavors.
Only Halo titles that appear on Xbox 360 will be affected by the sunset, which include: Halo Reach, Halo 4, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo: Spartan Assault, and Halo Wars. With the intent being that players transition to modern platforms where most of these titles are also available, players now have a little longer to be able to play these titles with functional legacy services on Xbox 360 before they sunset indefinitely.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection is available on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Halo Waypoint