Microsoft and 343 Industries Shut Down Fan Mod "Halo Online"

It's been a while since an ambitious fan-game has been shot down by the original IP holders, so let's have a look at the latest case, shall we? And surprisingly, it's not Nintendo that's in the hot-seat today but instead Microsoft and 343 Industries, the publisher and current developer of the immensely popular Halo series.

The game itself, called Halo Online, was developed by the ElDewrito fan-team, who not only rocked an amazing name but was also using Halo 3 assets to create a free-to-play multiplayer game with player customization, ranked gameplay, and stat tracking. It was a pretty big deal, and recently got a huge .6 update that, on top of adding a bunch of new stuff, also drew the attention of the developers, who made the decision to shut it down. Whereas Nintendo will shoot this stuff down with nothing but a silent, hateful glare, 343 Industries and Microsoft actually addressed the shutdown, because they're human beings who care about their fans.

While we are humbled and inspired to see the amount of passion poured into this project, the fact remains that it's built upon Microsoft-owned assets that were never lawfully released or authorized for this purpose. As this project reverberated across the community, our team took a step back to assess the materials and explore possible avenues, while Microsoft, like any company, has a responsibility to protect its IP, code and trademarks. Its not optional in other words."

They also addressed why this project was shut down instead of other, equally ambitious mods, saying that other projects are either 1) built off a unique engine and follows the usage guidelines or 2) requires a valid copy of the game to be installed in a computer first. Halo Online did neither of these things and thus, was shot down.

They even end with a call saying that they might partner with the ElDewrito team in the future to deliver more Halo content to the PC. And that's beautiful. Take a few notes, Nintendo, you could learn a thing or five.