Due to the server problems that have plagued the servers for the original 360 releases essentially all year, Halo 3 playlist populations have bottomed out. With the debatable exception of Social Slayer, Halo 3 playlists are all dead without coordinating a lobby. Thus, even though original Halo 3 is still technically online, it hasn’t been properly playable for a significant portion of the time since the initial announcement of the intent to sunset. In particular, the broken EXP/game tracking and random disconnection issues have essentially made ranked playlists mostly pointless because the ranks and actual game performance have little connection now. Players who came back to these games for multiplayer achievements have found them all but impossible to do without getting help. Also, anyone who came back looking to get one last ranked 50 would have had an almost-impossible task due to the random lag-outs and most matches not counting, regardless of player skill level.
At this point, 343i should not only fix the server problems up to the state they were in after Bungie’s departure, but also delay sunset by at least a few months to compensate for the unacceptable condition of the servers for the original games for months now. I am calling on 343i to
- Restore the servers to the functional condition they were in after Bungie’s departure.
(To be clear, I am not requesting that 343i develop a replacement for Bungie.net at this point.)
AND - Delay the sunset of the original 360 servers until the 8th of July, 2022. This date should give fans enough time to finish playing and getting achievements. At the very least, though, the sunset should be pushed back until at least April of 2022. I’d love to know what other members of the community think. Would you support this change of plans? What do you think about this idea?
343 no longer has the resources available that are required to keep these legacy systems in operation, which is a large factor in now finally turning them off. They would need to divert resources to fix something that they’re going to close down a few months later, which doesn’t make much sense.
It’s unfortunate that things have been up and down, but again this is exactly why they are finally being turned off. And to be fair, even for the newest game here people have had at leatlst 9 years to grab any achievements they wanted to get.
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> 343 no longer has the resources available that are required to keep these legacy systems in operation, which is a large factor in now finally turning them off. They would need to divert resources to fix something that they’re going to close down a few months later, which doesn’t make much sense.
> It’s unfortunate that things have been up and down, but again this is exactly why they are finally being turned off. And to be fair, even for the newest game here people have had at leatlst 9 years to grab any achievements they wanted to get.
I appreciate the reply, but I find it hard to believe that 343i could not put the resources to restore these games just up to the functionality they were in after Bungie left (for example, their condition as of about 2013-2014) for one final run before sunset. Remember, the issue with the random disconnects has been a prominent, common problem since September of 2019. Also, these games aren’t just some random indie MP games that failed to find an audience. These games were huge Xbox exclusives that built 360-era XBL into what it was. I just think it’s perfectly reasonable to ask for these games to be in functional condition for one final season before sunset, honestly.
It’s also worth mentioning that XBL is not free, even for the old 360 games. Players are still paying a monthly fee to even be allowed to play those games online.
Just my two cents. Thanks for the reply in any case.
I’m sure if they had the resources it would already have been worked on, but they just don’t. The vast majority of the team are full time on Infinite’s launch and post-launch, with a small team working through the backlog of MCC work. It’s the primary reason why Halo 5 and Halo Wars 2 stopped receiving full support and moved to minimal sustain, even Halo 5 is getting its last playlist update now.
For players like myself without an Xbox One that pay $60 a year for XBL Gold, the below quote from the Sunset announcement is disrespectful:
> That’s not to say we don’t value and care about everyone who plays Halo – we absolutely do.
Actions speak louder than words. Original Halo 3 Spartans do not feel valued by 343 Industries and our best interest has been proven to not be in mind.
If the legacy servers were maintained professionally, most players would confidently migrate to MCC post-Sunset. However, based on this shameful experience, players could fully expect the same dilapidated outcome in 5-10 years time on the MCC. The expectation has been set and 343 Industries will continue losing more business in the long run by pushing sensible players towards sustainable options like XLink Kai, Project Cartographer, Insignia, etc.
The solution to bring all Halo communities together is clear - just do it!
The Xbox 360 came out in 2005, with the most recent halo title on the console coming in 2012. While I am upset about the closing of servers I would say they have been very fair with the final days, postponing to Jan 13th already. I am going to miss the legacy titles but the only way they could continue would be dedicated servers.
The addition of MCC also makes it difficult to manage two versions of the same game for multiple titles can tie up resources.