Back in 2004, Halo 2 changed online multiplayer forever. Now, 20 years later, OG Halo 2 multiplayer has returned, bringing your aging Original Xbox back from the dead for more frantic Fiesta matches and big team battles across Blood Gulch (wah, it’s actually Coagulation!)
For those who still have their original Xbox consoles, or run an Xbox emulator on PC, you can play OG Halo 2 multiplayer once again via Insignia. A modern Xbox live server system, Insignia allows you to connect to a bunch of OG Xbox games such as Conker: Live and Reloaded, Midtown Madness 3 and Unreal Championship 2.
In a Twitter post, the Insignia team confirmed that making Halo 2 compatible with the service has been years in the making. While some features aren’t working perfectly, the majority of the game is ready to play very soon, as long as your insignia gamertag is set up.
Halo 2 becomes playable via Insignia in a Public Beta on March 15, 2024. The multiplayer servers will go live at 20:00 GMT/16:00 EST/13:00 PST.
“This is a major milestone on our list now complete,” the Insignia Team said. “We hope you're just as excited as we are!”
In its current state, Halo 2 on Insignia will have ten playlists available to experience on launch. The following modes will be playable:
- Rumble Pit
- Double Team
- Team Slayer
- Team Skirmish
- Team Training
- Team Snipers
- Team Hardcore
- Team SWAT
- Big Team Battle
- H2 Challenge
For details on how to setup Insignia, head over to the team’s website here.
While Halo 2 multiplayer is currently available via the amazing Halo: The Master Chief Collection, that version of the game isn’t perfect. Based on the PC version, Halo 2 in the MCC lacks a bunch of graphical effects and introduces its own glitches to the game. Of course, it does run at a much higher resolution and framerate, but some purists will want to re-experience the original.
OG Halo 2 servers died with the original incarnation of Xbox Live on April 15, 2010. While servers were shut off, fans discovered they could keep playing if they never disconnected with the last Halo 2 players still active until May 11, 2010.
Original Xbox Live and Halo 2 multiplayer in general had a huge effect on gaming everywhere, and it’s nice to re-experience that exact experience. From our sister site StealthOptional, the experience can be even better with the addition of the XBHD HDMI adapter for the original Xbox.
Insignia is a free-to-use online Xbox Live service available right now. If you want something newer, Halo Infinite is available as a free-to-play game on Xbox and PC, and has become brilliant with its newest season. We highly suggest giving it a go.