Halo 2's original Xbox Live multiplayer servers are back online today thanks to a fan project

If you've been looking to dust off the original Xbox and play Halo 2 but wish you could jump into the servers like you did in the late 2000s, well, now you can, thanks to a group of loyal fans.

These fans are behind the project badge, a free, unofficial, original Xbox Live alternative dedicated to reviving the online multiplayer component of the original Xbox gaming console. Official Insignia X/Twitter account to publish This week, it launched a public beta to revive the Halo 2 servers today.

Halo 2 will launch on Insignia in public beta on March 15 at 20:00 GMT (16:00 EST, 13:00 PST) with the following ten multiplayer playlists. Please make sure your console is set up and you have registered your Gamertag. see you soon! :Dr pic.twitter.com/YeHLnNrqxh

– Badge (@Insignia_Live) March 14, 2024

The public beta will include ten multiplayer matchmaking playlists, which you can check out below:

• Rumble hole
• Double team
• Team killer
• Team skirmishes
• Team training
• Team snipers
• Hardcore team
• SWAT team
• Big team battle
• H2 challenge

Advertising It even caught the attention of Max Huberman, a former Bungie employee who designed many of the multiplayer features in Halo 2 and Halo 3. “For all the aspiring time travelers! Very cool. Curious how much functionality they'll be able to replicate,” Hoberman wrote on X/Twitter. “If they can achieve feature parity in some places, I wonder if they can improve or add features that are in line with the original design specifications…”

Later this year marks the 20th anniversary of Halo 2, a game that was undoubtedly one of the best games released during the original Xbox era – and one of the most influential games in the industry's history. In particular, the Halo 2 online component has soared in popularity, making it, as some, including my colleague Ryan McCaffrey, describe it as a “killer app” for the original Xbox Live service.

After Microsoft pulled the plug on the original Xbox Live servers nearly 14 years ago, many looking to play Halo 2 multiplayer turned to Halo: The Master Chief Collection to relive the glory days of the 2004 multiplayer shooter. But If you're one of those people looking to go back to those times and you have a device that makes it easy to run the system on a modern TV (say, an EON XBHD), Insignia's latest server project might catch your eye.

Taylor is a reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @Ty Nexter.