We’re back with another chapter of Your Halo Story, featuring fond memories from fellow Halo fans looking back on 25 years in the Halo community.

Keep up with past entries below:

• Your Halo Story: Chapter 1
• Your Halo Story: Chapter 2
• Your Halo Story: Chapter 3
• Your Halo Story: Chapter 4
• Your Halo Story: Chapter 5

Check out the next batch of fan submissions from our #Halo25Together haul below, and look for even more to come in next month's mail bag!

I've been a Halo fan since I was 4 years old. I first played it at my dad's house; he had Halo: CE installed on his PC, and I would spend the whole afternoon playing. I remember getting stuck in the corridors of the Pillar of Autumn, and for most of my life, I didn't play or buy merchandise for any other game besides Halo. In fact, my dad bought me two games just so I would play something other than Halo.

I was thrilled to meet the voice actors and Unyshek during Spartan Fest 2025, and it was incredible that Unyshek himself chose me from the audience and gave me the card to play the demo. After the event, he even liked my picture with him on Instagram! Although I couldn't play the two hours I was allotted because I had to answer a question during Unyshek's presentation, I had a great time. There are many franchises I've enjoyed, but none of them could surpass Halo.

Speedy11701

2001, and I was 9 years old. My friend calls the house phone to invite me to come over to play "Some alien shooting game" he got for his Xbox. We played for hours and hours, finding all sorts of secrets, enjoying the story, and just having a great time overall. Little did we know we were experiencing such a monumental and important video game. Fast forward years later, to middle school and me and a few school friends are playing Halo 3 online. We meet other online players and quickly become friends. Our group of 4 very quickly expanded to a group of 12. We went from team slayer matches to having to go to custom games against each other. Hundreds of hours of memories, and even more laughs. I made some amazing friends who, even 2 decades later, I still keep in touch with and play Halo with online. Never in our wildest dreams did we think such an impact would come from "Some alien shooting game."

Sir Slayto

Watch on Youtube

I remember my older cousins playing Halo 2 splitscreen when I was in 1st grade. In 1st/2nd grade my grandmother purchased an Xbox 360 and Halo 3 because she thought it was "holy" due to the name "Halo" in it but that was the first Halo me and my older brother completed. It was splitscreen campaign and like any kids with no Xbox Live, we replayed the story over and over. We then were given Halo 3: ODST. At the time I didn't care much because Master Chief wasn't in it. Then we got Halo: Reach which we played a lot of. It was during Halo: Reach that we got Xbox Live and began being able to play customs and all the great things Halo that had to offer which was at the time way ahead of its time. Overall I met a lot of people from Halo over the years soo many years still the best FPS title in 2026.

MyTh Elementz

Todo comienza hace 16 años cuando conocí el juego Halo 2 Anniversary para la Xbox clásica.

La historia del Jefe Maestro se me hizo muy interesante: la filosofía, los ideales, la traición de un líder, los valores que el Jefe Maestro representa. Los paisajes, los gráficos y la banda sonora son supremos.

Me trae mucha nostalgia Halo 2, porque en mis años de juventud tuve muchos problemas y, al jugar una partida de Halo, me olvidaba de todo. Por un momento sentía el valor y la responsabilidad de ser un líder y cumplir la misión. Toda la filosofía del Jefe Maestro la llevé a cabo en mi vida adulta, y me ha ayudado en mucho. Uso una frase para hacer referencia a mi vida: “En el Gran Viaje”, y siempre voy a agradecer por haber conocido Halo.

En la actualidad sigo jugando:

• Halo: The Master Chief Collection
• Halo Infinite
• Halo 5: Guardians

¡Y Halo es Halo!

LordOfChaos

At the age of four my parents had gotten divorced and for the most part all I’d really known was how they bickered and argued throughout a large portion of my childhood. It wasn’t long until I got used to them seeing other people.

My first introduction to Halo was an interesting one, to say the least. My older brother and I went with my dad to his girlfriend’s house and met her two kids who were about the same age as us. We went upstairs and turned on the Xbox 360 to play Halo: Reach for the first time. They had showed us Forge and the chaos it could be. At the time I always favored the Elites and naturally I would play as one.

That Christmas my brother and I had gotten our own 360 and from there we would spend hours playing the campaign together, and despite bickering as siblings do, it was a special way for us to bond. We ended up getting a few of the Halo Megablocks sets and playing with them when we could. As we entered middle school, my bother lost interest in the Halo franchise but I continued to play Halo 4 and 5, favoring the multiplayer of 5 more than the main story. It was a silent comfort for me as I went through my awkward teenage years.

Later into high school, I slowly started to stray from the franchise, my interests getting scattered into many different fandoms and hobbies. Summer before senior year I had started to play the beta of infinite, enjoying the game and being fascinated as it developed and changed. I would play it off and on but it wasn’t until this year I really got back into the swing of playing as I figured out my work-life balance as well as moving in with my now fiancée. She was more of a COD fan growing up but in the recent months I convinced her to play ODST’s campaign and the start of Reach’s campaign with me. Now we mostly play firefight on Halo Infinite to unwind from stressful days. Because my fiancée and I originally met as cosplayers from the Ghost fandom, a part of our shared interests is making costumes and going to conventions together. We just recently invested in a 3d printer and have designed our Spartans we plan to make for Halo Fest this year. Mine being a Mark V[b] EOD Spartan III and hers being an ODST. As I’m writing this, my printer is currently whirring away printing out my props for said cosplay. My love for this franchise is ever growing and it brings me a lot of joy to see the developers take the communities insight for the games to improve them. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.

DragonZora27

Mi historia con Halo no comenzó con un control en las manos, sino observando.

En reuniones familiares veía a mis tíos jugar Halo 4 en pantalla dividida: sus risas, sus gritos de emoción y ese caos tan divertido hicieron que algo despertara en mí. Aun sin entenderlo del todo, ese mundo ya me estaba llamando.

No tenía consola, pero Halo encontró la forma de quedarse conmigo. A través de los Mega Bloks recreaba batallas, inventaba historias y me imaginaba usando esas armaduras que tanto me asombraban. Mientras otros jugaban, yo soñaba. Sin darme cuenta, Halo crecía conmigo.

Cuando por fin tuve mi Xbox y jugué The Master Chief Collection, sentí que estaba viviendo algo que había esperado durante años. No solo estaba jugando un videojuego: estaba cumpliendo un sueño de la infancia. Ponerme en los pies del Jefe Maestro —y del Inquisidor, mi personaje favorito— fue cerrar un capítulo que llevaba mucho tiempo escribiéndose.

Hoy sigo coleccionando y jugando Halo, pero lo más especial es compartirlo. Ver a mis primos emocionarse, reír y pedir “otra partida más” me recuerda por qué este universo significa tanto para mí. Halo no solo marcó mi infancia: se convirtió en un recuerdo constante, en un legado que sigo pasando adelante. Gracias, Halo, por acompañarme incluso antes de poder jugarte.

Feliz aniversario. 🎂

MarcTV

The earliest memory I have of Halo was playing co-op Combat Evolved with my dad for the very first time. I was completely enthralled with the story even at such a young age, and it's one of the reasons my Dad and I continue to play Halo to this very day; but my favorite memory (sorry Dad, lol) was meeting my partner. While we didn't meet playing Halo, he ran a Halo blog on tumblr and we met through a groupchat comprised of blogs for different fandoms. We talked about favorite games, and I found out just how much he loved Halo, just like me, and became best friends almost instantly. That was around 2011 / 2012, and half of our lives later in 2026, we are currently engaged! :) Kind of like to think this happened because of a beautiful franchise that means so much to us. <3

moonsaught

My favorite Halo memory will always be the way that it connected my family. Halo was introduced to my family along with the first Xbox. My uncles, my dad, and even my grandfather—no joke, his WhatsApp profile picture is Master Chief—that's how legendary this saga is and always will be.

StedfastClaw123

I was on Halo: CE Anniversary and it was my first playthough. I was on Assault on the Control Room, and I was just outside the doors in the snowy bit. I had all the teammates I could fit on my scorpion and I wanted to see if I could get the Scorpion and my team into the gate area, but instead I got stuck with my scorpion hung diagonally over the rock at the entry area and my teammates would jump out non stop only to get crushed. I spent about an hour and 30 minutes restarting my game just to save them, and then finally I got them through. Awesome story, right??

I am 13 btw, so this story happened fairly recently. LOVE HALO, NEVER QUIT MAKING HALO, and please make an anniversary edition of Halo 3!

Lemonz9491

Halo has always been there for me. When I was younger, whenever I play as Chief I get a sense of responsibility like him and it makes me feel like a true Spartan trying to save the world. and for that I say thank you TOO THE UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND "HOO-RAH"

TJG117ZA

I will always remember my first experience with Halo back in 2010, going on a shopping trip with my parents to an electronics store that had a Halo: Reach kiosk set up. My brother and I loaded into a game of Firefight on Beachhead together, and I knew at that moment I'd just stumbled upon something incredible.

To say that the experience of playing Halo for the first time was life changing for me would be an understatement; there hadn't been a game I'd played up to that point that compared to what I was playing in that moment, and although I was not quite aware of it at the time, from that point forward Halo had permanently altered the course my life would end up taking for the better.

Over the next few years, I saved every nickel and dime I had to buy my very own Xbox 360 just so I could play all the Halo games on it. I managed to get an Original Xbox as a gift from my dad, along with a copy of both Halo: CE and Halo 2. I played them both day-in and day-out waiting for the day that I could play all of the other Halo games on my new 360, and that day eventually came in 2012 just in time for Halo 4's release.

Halo 4 was the first video game I ever bought at launch, and playing through the game's Campaign tugged at my heartstrings so profoundly that it ignited a creative flame within me that I had never tapped into before and has never left me since. Seeing such a beautifully written story about love, loss, and finding your lost humanity made me want to become both a writer and a filmmaker myself.

Through the use of Forge and Theater Mode in Halo 3, I, as a young adult, was given both the tools and flexibility I needed to produce my very own little movies and videos, and from there I branched off into voice acting and screenwriting. Later on I made connections with a ton of great people and I learned so much about myself along the way, all thanks in no small part to my experiences with Halo.

I will always be grateful for the gift that is Halo and how it singlehandedly guided me along the path in life that I will follow for the rest of my days. There will never be another game quite like Halo, and I can't wait to see what adventures this wonderful series has to offer in the years to come.

Snipe MD

Un día, cuando tenía 5 años, vi un video de Halo Mega Construx. En ese momento no sabía que estaba a punto de conocer el amor de mi vida: Halo.

Y ahora, con 14 años, poseo la Master Chief Collection en mi PC. Soy un fiel fan de Halo y espero con ansias una nueva entrega de este maravilloso juego.

SCORPION MK

I haven't been around for that long, only started playing Halo when Reach came out on PC back in 2019 (come to think of it, it has nearly been 7 years), but it didn't really kicked in until Combat Evolved came out on MCC in March of 2020. After that, every single night became a Halo night. I have started awaiting new games on MCC on PC while saving money to get myself an Xbox, so that I could play Halo Infinite day one (to be completely honest, I was kinda glad that Infinite got delayed, gave me more time to get the console). After beating Halo 4, I wanted to play Halo 5 but I still didn't have a console at a time, so I had to rely on Xbox Cloud Gaming (or, as it was called back then, xCloud). That was rather an "interesting" experience, seconds of input delay, and I still managed to beat the campaign.

Obviously, after getting a console, I started playing Halo 5's multiplayer, I love this game, I got my first Killionaire on it, I remember grinding REQ-points for hours on end to finally get the DMR. But, of course, there is Halo Infinite. I have played every single Flight of that game, witnessed the game evolving. I love Infinite, finished the campaign, all of the Battle Passes, got all achievements and, just recently, the Hero rank (I played for 10 hours a day 12 days straight to get through the Onyx tier while it was still holidays). And, well, the community... The local Halo community I'm a part of ain't that big, I could say everyone knows each other, but I am glad it's still there, I hope that there will be an influx of new people when Campaign Evolved comes out. I want to thank the community and Halo Studios for the past 6,1 years of my Halo experience.

LittleEng1ne

When I was in highschool I saw something incredible: some kid had Halo: CE running on one of the school laptops. I asked how he did it, and he gladly copied me the files to get it running myself on any computer of my choosing. Bizarrely, everything *except* the audio files was in perfect working order, but that didn't stop me from replaying the Pillar of Autumn over and *over* again during my lunch breaks at school, getting hopelessly lost in those hallways with precious little gaming experience and no ability to save my game past lunch.

Once, during a rare opportunity, I linked a whole mess of laptops together with Ethernet cables to play a silent LAN game with a few other dudes. Probably not the intended experience, but I'll never forget how proud I was of getting that working under the radar of the schools network restrictions.

I'm gonna keep it a buck with you, it was a *looooong* time before I finally had the thought "Hey, you can probably find a version of this that actually has sound." And lemme tell you, it was *not* hard! XD

That sound though, man! The visuals are a little dated, but the sound hasn't aged a day. I can't believe how much of the game I played without it, I felt like my blindfold had come off for the first time once I got the fresh download set up.

Rest assured, I bought a copy fair and square once the MCC hit PC. It actually came kind of full circle, I got one of those exact school laptops on extended loan because of Covid and it had just enough juice to get me through every single one of those games. Why the school computers didn't block Steam is beyond me, but I'll always be grateful that they didn't!

Liar of Partinel

Halo has been a major part of my childhood and teenage years. I remember the first time seeing it and immediately getting hooked.

It surely is a major turning point for any six year old. FPS games have been my everything ever since, especially Halo. I was a space nerd as a kid and seeing a shooter game that took place in space was like a gift. Master Chief had become my hero too (as foolish as that might maybe sound).

I couldnt play much at the time due to some issues but after Reach came out, I remember playing that and then moving back to the older games.

More than a decade has passed, and I dont regret a second of it. From books to comics, to games, and everything: Halo, is my favourite franchise that I would consider "perfectly perfect". I've also met amazing people throughout this all. I hope to continue interacting with everything Halo has to offer for decades more.

See you starside, everyone.

TheNetherXD

I was born in 2002. When I was only 6 years old my grandad passed away from cancer and he left me his Xbox. It came with Halo 2 and I played it relentlessly. Even now at age 23, it's still one of my favourite games of all time. I thank the team who created it and I thank my grandad for leaving it to me.

TenBitTony

Ever since Halo: Reach, I have translated many deep lore pieces in my own language to share with my community, including every Waypoint Chronicle.

I first played Halo with Halo 3 at a friend's. Video games had remained on the corner of my cultural vision as a child, but the rich storytelling and visuals of Halo 3 is what drew me into exploring this narrative medium, an endless quest still in progress, fit for someone with a deep love for every kind of story.

Talking online with other fans led me to discover that Halo was a universe deeper than what I had ever experienced until then. There were games, books, ARGs, nuggets of new information spread in interviews and official websites and videos distributed through this novel Xbox 360-only portal called Halo Waypoint. And a community ready to find and catalog it all. I am currently an administrator on multiple Wikis and maintainer of lore-oriented community-driven documents, but Halo was the spark that lit the fire.

Community involvement led me to the positions of forum moderator and administrator, Wiki contributor and administrator, news writer and board member of the leading fan website in my language, all to foster the passion of this relatively small group of fans. Treasured friendships were born from these responsibilities.

I'm Lunaramethyst, administrator of the French-language WikiHalo and core member of Halo.fr since 2013. I love my community, and I love Halo which brought me to it.

Lunaramethyst

So back in 2007, I was 5 years old, and my father had gotten Halo 3 sometime around then. My mother was making cookies in the kitchen, and she needed his help doing something so he decided to give 5 year old me the controller. I had no idea what to do as it was my first time playing a video game. So he showed me how to move around and shoot before he left. I think dad got to right after the Arbiter killed Truth. 5 year old me just ran when the Flood came after me, I died so much, but I somehow beat the mission. After that, we had those cookies. All in all, it was a great Christmas.

Ever since then, Halo has made a big impact on my life. There is so much more I could say, but it'd take forever to tell all the stories I have so I'll just add some small ones. I have so many of the Halo Mega Bloks. I remember in Christmas 2009, my parents had gotten me a bunch of the Halo Wars sets. To this day, I still love collecting Halo Mega Bloks. Rather recently I learned that my dad had won a couple of local Halo LAN tournaments where we used to live, and honestly, I find that awesome. I've looked up to Master Chief since I was a kid. I was always going on and on to my mom about how cool and brave he was.

I could go on all day with stories, but I'd just like to thank you for all of these great years and great memories and many more to come <3

GalacticPhroggie

Summer 2002. During one of the matches of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, a strange spot popped up on my TV. It was a weird Italian Halo: CE trailer. Instantly—the music, the aesthetic, the Elites, that green guy! Everything felt so epic.

That same summer, my father bought me an Xbox with the game and as soon as I saw the manual (incredibly hyped to came back home and play!), I turned to page 13 and…I was disappointed with the gameplay image. It was an FPS! I was a kid used to playing third-person PS1 Disney tie-in games, lol. Well, the present was already there, so I connected everything to my TV and—oh man…that menu, that intro cutscene. I didn’t care anymore that I could only see my weapon. From that day on, FPS became my favorite genre ever, and Halo my favorite franchise of all time (both to play and to read!). From that magical day, the first time that I felt hyped for something, watching an absurd unhealthy amount of times the Halo 2 E3 2003 Demo, the poetic and generational wait for Halo 3, the emotional Master Chief comeback in 2012 with Halo 4 through the horrific pandemic while waiting for Infinite at home, to today—waiting to play Campaign Evolved and read Parasite’s Wake!

Happy 25th Anniversary to the greatest universe ever!

Cyrus91

Recuerdo cuando Keyes nos dio la mágnum. A pesar de mi corta edad y no haber podido jugar Halo desde el 2001, amo a Halo, ya que ha estado presente toda mi vida. A mis 8 años me disfracé de Master Chief, y ahora estoy aquí, disfrutando Halo MCC en online mientras ahorro para una Xbox Series para jugar Campaign Evolved. ¡TE AMO HALOOOOO!

(Quiero tatuarme el 117)

WAZALIN#4201

Yeah, it sounds utterly insane to me now. But at the time, I really wasn't very interested in Halo.

I'd watched my friends play it here and there, and knew it was popular, but aside from the sci-fi aspect, it didn't seem to have much for me. I wasn't into FPS games. I'd never even owned one.

All that changed when a family friend who worked at Microsoft gifted me a copy of CE for PC, from the Microsoft employee store (I still have the box with the sticker on it stating so). It wasn't a holiday. Wasn't my birthday. But it it was very nice of them, so I figured the least I could do was try it out.

The first level intrigued me. The second lit a fire in my heart that has yet to be, and hopefully never will be, extinguished. When I walked out of that crashed escape pod, and saw that ancient ringworld arching over me, I knew I'd never want to leave.

So yeah, I played the rest of the game. That might be an understatement. To this day I continue to play CE, across PC, on Xbox, the 360, the One. For thousands of hours, and quite a few in every other Halo too.

I devoured the books. Read every single one. (This is crucial for what comes next.)

I got into the music. Bought the soundtrack on CD. I listened to it nearly as much as I played the game. Eventually, its grand Gregorian soundscapes inspired me to start writing a novel, influenced by the epic scope of Halo's lore.

I never could've imagined that 15 years later I'd still be working on the same series of novels--a lifelong passion project.

This altered the trajectory of my life. Shaped my interests. Where I chose to go to college. What I majored in (creative writing!) The opportunities I've had. The people I've met.

Which brings me to the only other Halo-spawned thing that can match the importance of that.

The friends and memories I've made and continue to make playing Halo.

Late nights in friends' basements at slumber parties. Later nights with a headset and a full party. Couch co-op campaigns on college afternoons. Clans, forums, chats. Mods, stunts, competitions. Tips and tricks I'm still acquiring to this day. From pecking at a keyboard to clacking away at full speed, because getting killed while typing taught me in a way Mavis Beacon never could. The friends I made that I still keep in touch with, and the ones who last appeared online years ago.

Even more precious to me to than a crumpled cardboard box, where this great journey began.

Life literally wouldn't be the same without my favorite game. Here's to another 25 years!

Vlexis

Before my brother and I were born, my dad had an Xbox 360 that he used to play sports games on - Madden, FIFA, that sorta stuff. When we both got a little older, I would've been 5, and he would be 6, my dad retired the console, leaving it to us.

I don't remember where they came from, but there were a handful of games for my brother and me to play; That years Madden and FIFA, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Wheelman, Dash of Destruction (iykyk), Call of Duty: World at War and Halo 3.

I have so many random memories of Halo 3. Playing the first few levels at a sleepover with my brother's friends, getting our arses kicked on The Covenant (the best level in the game and possibly the series) right before setting off to Sheffield for a martial arts competition, we couldn't remember what the brutes were called, so we opted to call them Daisies...ah, so many good times.

The year's now 2021. New house, new school, new Xbox...that now entirely belongs to my brother. The two of us hadn't played Halo together for a good couple of years. I'm out for breakfast with my mum and dad, and somehow the conversation shifts to gaming, and they ask me if I want a console of my own. We go to the local GAME. I pick up an Xbox One and a Game Pass Ultimate subscription, and let the MCC download whilst at martial arts.

With the MCC, I could finally play the other Halo games. I remember having to take a breather after finishing the Warthog run at the end of CE (I don't think I've ever been so stressed), being absolutely shocked that my favourite character from H3, the Arbiter, was playable in H2, and I remember being in year 8 and rushing home from period 5 maths to drag my mum out into the pouring rain to get a launch day copy of Infinte.

Back in 2025, I sat my GCSEs, and was finally done with secondary school. Being so busy with coursework, revision, martial arts and for a brief time, cadets, meant that I had no time to play any video games. With 3 months off from school before I started college, I could finally rest and play some Halo.

I started playing Halo when I was 5, and I am now 17. I owe everything to this series - my love for video games, music, storytelling, it's been a huge inspiration for me. Thank you to both Bungie and Halo studios for giving me my favourite series.

(p.s bring back the Arbiter and Shipmaster plz and thx) -Eden

WhereIsRtas

I remember finding a Halo 4 disk in my dad's old Xbox 360 games and decided to play it. Every holiday since then, I play Halo with my cousins and sometimes by myself and with friends. Since then I have played almost all the other Halo games and I won't stop!

Jude W

Watch on Youtube

My first introduction to Halo was on the original Xbox playing Halo: CE with my uncle. It was The Maw and I enjoyed how chaotic things were during the Warthog run. From there, I continued to play and enjoy the story I was slowly becoming apart of. My love only grew once I found out about the novels.

Halo has given me some of my favorite memories and now, as a new parent, I can't wait to do it all over again with them (when they're old enough of course.).

ChuckaDuck96

When I first played Halo, I had convinced my brother Matt to buy Halo 3 for me while he was visiting. So when I first put that disk in, and saw the majesty of the Halo 3 main menu, I found myself sitting on the carpet in front of my parent's living room tv in awe, just watching and listening to the music. The atmosphere was captivating and I hadn't even played the game yet!

But the most magical moment, was when 5 notes played on the piano, as the introduction to the mission "The Covenant" played out. The music, the siege of three towers, this game oozed finality. Everything you did felt important. I was immersed, for the first time ever in a game.

And when those two Scarabs dropped, you know my jaw did too. Halo has been, and will forever be my introduction to gaming.

Nothing will ever match it.

Nik799

Siempre despues de la escuela, jugaba Halo 3: ODST. Estaba horas jugando con mi Xbox 360 con el disco de Halo 3: ODST. Hoy en dia me sigo divertiendo con esta coleccion de MCC.

BlahRegent38073

Phew, 25 years.

I can still remember it clearly. I was 10 years old and had just seen the Halo TV advert in Germany. I knew immediately that I had to have this game and console! I annoyed my parents and grandparents, started raving about it at school and couldn't think about anything else.

Christmas finally arrived, I was totally excited and drove to my grandparents' house to see if there was a big parcel there and got really involved in the Christmas preparations :D After dinner, it was time to open the presents and I could hardly wait to finally play Halo – Halo is the reason I became an avid Xbox fan and it completely changed my life from then on.

LAN parties, legendary evenings with my best friend (for whom I had to get the smaller controller because his hands were too big for the Duke :D), and so many hours of fun, frustration and fascination that have stayed with me to this day.

For that, I can only say thank you, thank you for giving my 10-year-old self an incredible journey that might not have started so soon without Halo. For me, Halo was my first real split-screen experience – playing the campaign together, helping each other out, but also yelling at each other when the other person messed up again :D (or when you were too clumsy yourself).

R4GINGFOX

My Halo story began Nov 29th, 2001. It was my 6th birthday and I remember waiting for my mom to come home from Christmas shopping with my grandma and killing time by playing Goldeneye on the N64.

My mom came home and had asked me to come see her for a birthday present. As any 6 year old, I jumped up and ran to see her (stubbing my toe along the way) and she had this black box with an X on it set up in front of the TV and had it turned on. And that is when I heard the iconic chant and saw it on the "big screen". Halo.

I was blinded, dare I say, even dumbstruck by its majesty. My mom had bought a second controller and the very first thing we did was hop on Blood Gulch and start playing multi-player. I even stayed up late playing campaign mode only to wake my mom up on the 343 Guilty Spark level when The Flood was introduced.

Flash forward to today, Halo is still a huge part of my life. From audio books by the amazing Kelly Gay, to old Halo 2 Jazwares figures, to the Halo collectible cards released a couple days ago. Halo is my comfort game in today's day and age. It's my go to when I need a break from everything. Right now I am currently set on beating every Halo game released by time Halo: Campaign Evolved releases. And when that releases, I have a couple friends on PS5 who are going to jump in with me and start their very first Halo journey.

ZukalaRalmus

So I'd known for years about Halo, but I was an avid JRPG fan & not into FPS. But in 2017 I went through something in life that got me really depressed, & the first thing that made me laugh in weeks was Red vs Blue on Netflix. I joined the RoosterTeeth community & people there convinced me to try Warframe...and Halo.

My first Halo game was actually 5, I simply tried it out, & then I got the Master Chief Collection. When Chief first landed on the ring in CE, I just stood there in awe admiring the graphics & the world. I played through the games in like a month or 2, & got ODST, Reach, & 4 as well. Been slowly reading the books, too! Love it. Have great memories of playing co-op with friends as well. Great series, can't wait to see where the journey takes us all next! Cheers.

zeitgeistzest

My story takes us back to the year 2002 around November. I was in Kindergarten at the young young age of 5 years old. I had made a couple friends and was being allowed to go to a friend's house for the first time. This friend's name is Lenny.

On this day my parents met Lenny's parents and allowed them to come pick me up and go to his house for the first time. I remember vividly being so excited but nervous because up until then I never actual rode in someone else's car. I was 5! I remember stopping at Burger King before going to their house. Once there we ate and played as kids do but the thing that stands out is that at one point we sat down to play video games.

I should preface this with yes I was 5. But realize that not only was it the early 2000s so we weren't slaves to smart phones but I was actually playing video games from around the age of 2. We had Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo, GameBoy, and I'd play games like Unreal Tournament and Quake on my dad's PC so while I was 5 and not good at games, I at least had the general knowledge of how to move the character and shoot the guns.

Anyways, so we sat down at some point of our "play date" and played some games on this super mysterious and unheard to me console. The Xbox with is glorious big controllers. And the game we played? Halo: Combat Evolved.

I remember him booting up that game and I'm sure hyping it up. My first experience in Halo was on the 5th mission: Assault on the Control Room. A mission that remains as my favorite mission today. I was blown away. The graphics, the music, the grunts! We played for hours shooting our way through waves of alien soldiers playing as this cool robot green guy who didn't talk or make noise. And by the end of the mission I was hooked. Beyond hooked.

Being small kids we just kind of jumped around missions rather than playing in any actual order. If my memory serves me right the next mission we played was actually the 3rd mission: Truth and Reconciliation.

After that day we played Halo every single time I went to his house. Halo quickly grabbed hold and took me for the best ride I could imagine. From there I got my first copy in 2004 for the PC. And for those who played the PC version you'd know that that version had online multiplayer. Something that I was already very familiar with having played Unreal Tournament 1999 online many times or going with my dad to the many LAN parties he attended or even hosted!

It was shortly after getting my copy that on another fateful Friday night that my brother and I were with our dad going to Blockbuster as we did every Friday that while looking for movies to rent, I came across the Halo figures by Joyride and my mind once again exploded. I had no clue that there were toys to this game that has already become my main focal point. My dad ended up buying us this 5 pack of mini Spartans and the obsession just snowballed from there. My childhood literally was dominated by Halo. From countless hours of video games to being kicked outside to play only for me to bring my Halo figures out and recreate scenes from the campaign or maybe even some things that happened in my latest multiplayer adventure! I met my childhood best friend playing Halo and we bonded over playing splitscreen Halo at his dad's house while our parents played cards.

From 2002 to today I'm 28. Married, 2 kids, and still playing Halo daily. I still have my PC copy, my Xbox copies (I got my first Xbox for my 8th birthday), and even most of my original Halo figures. I've taken my obsession further. I joined the 405th infantry as an ODST and am working on Spartan armor next. Halo isn't just a game. Its a lifestyle. A culture made up of the best community gaming has ever seen.

ODST Xaero

It was the summer of 2006, on a U.S. military base in the middle of upstate New York—nowhere to go, and not a whole lot to do. That’s where a group of eight kids formed lifelong bonds over a video game. Halo 2 was our lifeblood.

We’d lug giant CRT TVs on wagons from garage to garage, hauling OG Xboxes and the heaviest controller of all time (shoutout to THE DUKE!). Along for the ride was a four-port Linksys switch and a bundle of Ethernet cables. These were our tools, and the memories we made that summer were absolutely incredible.

From wild nights of Fiesta on Lockout, to insane games of Cat and Mouse on Coagulation, to spending hours trying—and succeeding—to hit the Super Jump/Bounce on Zanzibar, we lived for it. In the days before any of us had broadband internet, Halo sat at the center of everything.

When Halo 3 launched on the Xbox 360 in 2007, we all had 360s—and a few of us even hit the midnight release at our local mall’s GameStop. Those long nights of Xbox Live matchmaking may have contributed to a noticeable drop in my high school grades haha. The same thing happened with Halo 4 (XP cap be damned!).

By the time Halo 5 rolled around, we’d all moved away from that military base in New York, but Halo still kept us connected. Now we’re all in our 30s (oof—that’s rough to type), with families, day jobs, and lives spread across different states and even countries. Still, we carve out time to hop into Halo—whether it’s Infinite ranked to scratch the competitive itch (having attended our first HCS event Arlington 2025) or playing MCC for throwback custom games like it’s 2006 all over again.

Halo has never really left our lives—and honestly, I hope it never does.

DyingProdigy

When you ask me about my Halo story, you would think of all the usual elements of a seasoned fan. Discovering the game through the first generation Xbox, local co-op with friends, maybe even lining up at stores to be the first to collect your copy. But the thing is...I had none of that.

As one of a small handful of players based in the Philippines, Halo was about as niche as you can get over here. Sure, it may have had a little bit of fame more than a decade ago among more dedicated gamers, but now it is mainly seen as "that one Xbox game."

It was somewhere around 2006-2007 when I would first hear about Halo. At that time, gaming looked like a big kid's hobby in my eyes. Eager to fit in, I jumped in at the first chance to try out one of these "big kid" games as soon as I got the chance to take over for my dad on the game he was playing on his laptop.

It was Halo: Combat Evolved's PC port, and he gave me a shot at playing the second level to mop out all the Grunts for him. I do not know how he found out about Halo, but these days I assume it was a coworker that introduced him. I got a glimpse of the grassy fields, the ringworld's expanse rising up from behind the hills and both ends meeting at the highest point in the sky. The concept of artificial worlds did not exist in my younger mind at the time, so I assumed Installation 04 was the result of Earth being wrecked by a giant bomb.

And after that, that was it. Both of us forgot about Halo after the game was erased from dad's laptop. I do not recall even making it further than that, and neither does my dad. Halo was all but a memory in the corner of my mind for many years up until 2017.

A year prior to that, I was gifted an Xbox 360 for my birthday. Originally I was going to get a One, but all those were sold out. Still, I warmed up to my Xbox, and going to my regular game store every 2 months became the norm to check for new games to try out. Eventually I would come across Halo 3: ODST.

The name 'Halo' was quickly connected to that old game I played on that laptop a decade ago. Being older and far more versed in games, I went through it, and Halos 3 and Reach with ease and continued to come back for more until my controller's left stick had its rubber coat peeled out.

There was just a catch however, I have only myself to play with. Xbox Live was unavailable in my country at the the time (for the 360 at least), and I was the only local Halo player for miles. My dad has long since moved on from video games, and none of my friends or relatives play Halo. I was even the only person in my circle to even have an Xbox!

My lack of experience with other players did set me up for quite the shock once MCC came to PC years later, and I can finally play with others online on my computer. These players I matched with I could tell were most likely far older and experienced than me. And here is where I learned that years of practice against AI does not prepare you for fighting real people.

That never stopped me however. I continued to play for as long as I had time, trying to get myself adjusted to Halo's style of PvP to the point that I don't die within 10 seconds of spawning. By the time Halo Infinite came out, it was now an even fight between my team and the enemy's.

And that's how my great journey went. Perhaps one of these days, I'll return to the fight, maybe to attempt the campaigns with a friend. But for now, I'm left with a rich history worth sharing about this niche game (in my land that is).

SpareCube268064

I remember attending a Microsoft event in Gainesville, Florida, just weeks before the original Xbox launched. I spent the afternoon wandering through a massive circus tent, demoing games like Dead or Alive, Crimson Skies, and Blood Wake.

But the real mystery was tucked away in the back corner: a heavy-duty tractor-trailer with security guarding the door. We wandered over, curious, and were actually surprised when they stopped us to check our IDs before letting us in.

Once we crossed the threshold, it was pitch black, save for two couches and four old-school CRT TVs glowing from the walls. We sat down, grabbed the "Duke" controllers, and were introduced to Halo and Team Slayer.

Up until that moment, I was strictly an RPG player. I had no idea that stepping into that dark trailer would change the trajectory of my life.

Looking back, the impact of that demo is incredible. The lifelong friends I met through sweaty, caffeine-fueled LAN parties. The friends I’ve made across the world via Xbox Live. My brother literally hopping on a plane the day Halo 2 released just so we could beat the campaign together.

The memories, the laughter, and the community that Halo built are a huge part of who I am today. Thanks guys!

NXZAlpha

Recuerdo que cuando salía de el colegio jugaba Xbox LAN. Mientras jugaba admiraba lo hermoso y lo bien hecho que era Halo 2 fue mi primer juego que quería comprar. Ya de mayor compre la consola la Xbox One Fat con la Master Chief Collection. En verdad gracias por haberlo logrado después sacaron Halo 5 y fue el juego que me hizo recordar el niño que jugo Halo 2 de corazón. Gracias por todo lo que han hecho...

Leonardouglas42

Watch on Youtube

Halo has always had a special place in my life.

It was one of, if not the, first games I'd ever played on the Xbox. I remember I'd play it so much my cousins would beg me to play something else but to me Halo is just that good. And recently throughout the span of about a year, I took one of my good friends on the Halo journey thanks to Halo: MCC. It was probably the best Halo co-op experience I've had in a long time.

Some of my favorite parts was us playing Halo: CE and Reach. (His first time ever playing Halo was on Legendary!) I was on original graphics while my friend was on remastered and in the middle of it, he asks me about the Didact and I got straight whiplash from that that. Turns out he was watching all the terminals and thought it was part of the base game.

In Reach, we had a bit were I was Noble Six and he was Noble Seven so it changed how we viewed the story in some parts in a fun way. On the last 3 missions of Reach, 2 other friends joined adding onto the joke all together so by the end of the campaign, Nobles 6,7,8, and 9 were all together.

It was such an amazing experience and made me appreciate the franchise even more than I already had.

Krabykingdom

I'll never forget the first time I saw Halo: CE's menu. Played Silent Cartographer, splitscreen, on an Xbox demo disc that came with a game magazine. Heard the rare death scream while getting blasted off of Halo 2's Lockout. The times I spent in Lone Wolves matchmaking or acquiring requisitions in Warzone. Nor the time and time again that I find myself sitting, with eyes closed, just listening to the sounds of 'Never Forget.'

From turning the pages of Fall of Reach to Mythic runs of Halo 3, and even just a few months ago, running a friend through his first time in Halo campaigns on the Master Chief Collection: Halo has been an integral pastime in all its iterations. It has been a place where my friends and I have forged some of my most cherished gaming memories (Vidmaster runs, launch day coop, LAN parties at my childhood home). Halo has been a dopamine inducer over decades and an old friend in times of need.

All this to say how much this entertainment series, in all forms, is such a cherished part of my life. I look forward to the years ahead and the time that I will be spending with this universe. I have so much appreciation for all the people who have lovingly crafted the Halo world and am proud to have contributed in my own way, to its story.

So as my daily routine takes me past my bookshelf with my physical media collection of Halo, or I see my computer running its Halo 3 main menu screensaver (wow, time flies) Halo will continue to be a haven that feels a lot like home.

ShinobiAisu

When Halo: Combat Evolved came out in 2001, we were living in Seattle. One of our neighbors at the time worked at Microsoft and we got our first Xbox. In 2001 I would have been in kindergarten or preschool, but my dad picked up Halo. Everytime my mom wasn't home or left the house, my dad would come get me and say you want to play Halo? The funniest part was anytime he heard the garage door open, straight panic hit the room and we would quickly shut it off. When Halo 2 came out my dad went out and bought a new TV and when Halo 3 came out we got a new surround system. Even after 20 years when it comes to Halo 2, our neighbor at the time worked on it and now I made it a tradition for me to look for his name every time I beat Halo 2 on Legendary.

Thanks for starting my gaming journey.

Piranhadog

Halo has brought so much joy and happiness. Halo has got me through the toughest years. Especially through quarantine, family loss, job changes and overall low points throughout my life. I've met amazing people in Halo who are some of my closest friends. Just like Halo, they are the best and make my life better. I am forever in debt to this amazing franchise for everything. Halo will always remain as my favorite franchise.

Happy 25th anniversary Halo, you will be the greatest franchise to me! I'm excited to play and experience the next chapter of Halo!

BubZealek

Y'know, I remember one time when I was six or seven years old: it was a particularly gloomy day and I was around grandma's where I'd chill with my uncle in his room. I was watching him play a game, running round hallways shooting aliens of all shapes and sizes before the level ended and I was greeted by a crash and the sight of a strange alien ring world. Dinner time came along and he had to go eat but before he went I remember him handing me the controller with a simple instruction - "Take the controller and shoot the aliens."

And that was my first experience with Halo.

About the same year, Halo 2, I understood now, got invested in the story and never looked back since. I have Halo 2 to thank for not only becoming my first favourite game but introducing me to a band, that still to this day, is my all time favourite. Breaking Benjamin.

Undead042

Halo: CE was actually the first video game I ever played, at just 5 years old (but don't tell anyone I said that). I have 2 older siblings, one who is 4 years older (my sister) and one who is 9 years older (my brother). This made it a bit difficult to play any kind of competitive game, as you can imagine. But luckily for me, I have the best siblings in the world, and we spent days perfecting a custom Halo game we could play together that would be fair and fun for all of us.

What we settled on became known as "The Tank Game". For anyone who might want to play Halo with people who aren't great at video games, it's very easy to set up! On Blood Gulch (or any similar map), put 1 person in a Scorpion, 1 person in a Warthog, and 1 person on top of one of the bases with a Sniper Rifle. The objective of the game is for the Sniper to try and kill the tank player before the tank can blow up the Warthog. If you want to try introducing people to Halo who don't usually play video games, try it out!

bananabonanz

Se meu irmão não tivesse me mostrado, eu nunca conheceria Halo, e jogar e zerar Halo.

Crusher781oG

Halo came into my life through my cousin when I was 15. I didn't have an Xbox but he had this 'cool new game' we had to play. The ability to play split-screen coop immediately sold me and I went out and bought an Xbox as soon as I could. Fast-forward a few months and all my friends are playing Halo. This was great but it was also pre-readily available fast internet and online gaming which presented a problem.

So what did we do? We lugged around our massive TVs and used crossover cables to play directly in our living rooms. Back then, if you had just an ethernet cable, you needed a switch or router to frag together but if it was just two consoles, a crossover cable worked flawlessly. And did we ever play. Summer evenings, weekends during the school year, holiday breaks, you name it. We all came together (anywhere between four and eight of us), to play in the same room and it was incredible.

Once I left for college and Halo 2 came out, online play became more popular and LAN parties slowly started to fade out of existence, but those memories are foundational to my love of Halo.

rinocerhous

I remember playing Halo: Combat Evolved for the first time with my family on the PC. It was truly incredible, from the installation wizard to the graphics and main menu theme songs.

The campaign was really impressive. Since we speak spanish, we didn't fully understand the dialogue at the time, but the story was so immersive that you could understand it well despite that, and we wanted to know more and more.

When we got our OG Xbox, one of the first things we did was buy Halo: CE again and we spent so much playing coop and local multiplayer. When Halo 2 came out, we bought it without thinking, but it turned out to be the Multiplayer Map Pack, hahaha. We kept it and went back to look for Halo 2, and we were even more surprised when we saw the menus and finally the dialogues in Latin American Spanish!

We continue to enjoy Halo to this day, a game that has had a huge impact on us, and I THINK WE'RE JUST GETTING STARTED (my favorite phrase).

Thank you Halo, and thank you to everyone who has been behind it for the past 25 years, both you at the studios and the fans of this great community.

Happy 25th Halo Anniversary.

Cap Gustavo

I was five years old. FIVE! Or at least that's what I've always told myself, maybe I was actually six at the time. I went to a friend's house to play, as kids did in the days before smart devices. And on the big box TV in his living room... was Halo: Combat Evolved in all its 480p glory. I was instantly enamored by the colors, the guns familiar and alien, the environments... driving and gunning the Warthog in co-op too, of course! Not long after that, my dad bought an Xbox in fall 2003, and this six-year-old convinced him to let me get Halo. But even from that young age, even back when there was only one Halo, my friends and I were absolutely captivated. For years and years after, we would play pretend and imagine and dream even outside the game. Tromping through the woods or even at school, we were Spartans: the heroes of the day, on grand adventures to save the galaxy. Many of the connections I made in those years have been sustained through the power of Xbox Live and Halo, even as friends moved away.

Kids grow up one day, but I never lost that sense of imagination, nor passion for the stories- both existing and of the sort I wanted to tell. From Halo 3 onward, I poured countless hours into Forge, dreaming still of making and setting environments and the story they told. Just months ago, my first Halo Infinite Forge campaign experience Operation: HYDRA NEST was featured on Halo Waypoint, and for me that was a moment that my passion for the series had finally come full-circle. Through creating, I get to be a part of what tens of thousands of players have enjoyed about Halo- with captivating environments packed full of interactivity and epic combat that weave new stories and new dreams about where Halo goes next. Now I get to see the next generation of players, half my age, playing my maps and getting excited about the same things I have for nearly twenty three years of my life. It's been a hell of a ride, and I'll be along for what's next.

DaKiowa

When I went to college in 2006 I didn’t know anyone else going there. I met my dorm roommate the same day I moved in, we both found we had Halo in common which was great. I didn’t want to be the same shy kid I was in high school and college is a fresh start. So our first night there, a few days before classes started, I went around 2 floors of our dorm, and told anyone with an open door I was bringing my TV and Xbox down to the basement lounge to play Halo in an hour and any were welcome! I expected a few guys, maybe. We ended up with a full 16 to system link with 4 TVs (the best way to play Halo IMO) and spent the next few hours playing together. That night, I met most of the guys I’d spend the next 4 years hanging out with on a daily basis. 2 of them had the same name as me so the gang all referred to me by my gamertag for our whole college adventure. Halo brought us together, and it gave me an outlet to meet people with at least one common interest with a lot less effort than I thought possible.

Thanks Halo, for all the memories and good times.

Scotimus

Watch on Youtube

I took part in Singapore's biggest Halo Fan contest organised by Microsoft years ago. I knew that I would lose it as other contestants had more friends to vote for them. But I wasn't going to go down without a fight. I brought almost all my Halo collection down to the contest place. I played Halo music to hype myself up.

I put on the most passionate, craziest presentation the world would know. I lost, I got angry and the next thing I knew was that I was on Reddit, Malaysia forum and etc. I never regretted what I did.

Then a company called Geek Culture organised The Most Hardcore Halo Fan Singapore contest. I won it by posting the contest video which I technically lost and sent numerous entries on why I was the definitive Halo Fan of my country. I won. I won the Master Chief and Spartan Locke statue, Green Gaming Headset and Green controller. The prizes were great but what felt complete was recognition that my passion burns forever. I love Halo. I love Master Chief. He is my bulwark in the difficulties I faced in daily life.

Leong Han Keow

For my 6th birthday my dad bought me the Xbox console and my mom brought me Halo: Combat Evolved. As soon as I saw the cover art, I was hooked. I forgot all about the part happening and was glued to the TV. It became the only game I would play when I got home from school. Later that year, Halo 2 was released and I begged my dad to get it for me, I wanted to see where the story lead me. Second verse, was the same as the first. I was glued to it, I became entirely enveloped in the Halo universe.

Now, 25 years later I own the books, various collectibles, and have even begun to write a screenplay for a series of short films. I also successfully passed my love for the franchise to my son. I am forever grateful for the universe Bungie gave to us and 343 (Halo Studios) for carrying the torch. My family and I love you guys and can’t wait to see what’s in store for our favorite franchise!

Lucky

The Cost of Connection (2001)

In middle school, my brother and I were worlds apart. We grew up poor, and money was a constant shadow over our house. Despite that, my parents saved everything they could to put that original, expensive Xbox. It was a massive financial burden for them, and we heard it a lot! But sitting shoulder-to-shoulder on the floor made the money lecture worth it! We weren't just kids in a poor household; we were "Master Chief" finding the Flood for the first time!

The Weekend Warriors (2002-2006)

As a teen, Halo became my sanctuary. My friends and I weren't the "smart kids"—school felt like a place where we were constantly failing. But the weekends were ours. We’d haul heavy box TVs for split screen play. At first, I was terrible. I spent every summer losing, match after match, but I never quit. Through those long, losing days, I kept up and became better; especially with the sniper rifle! I then became so obsessed with this competitive play with them, I became the group’s "engineer," learning switches, crossover cables and ethernet connectivity just to keep our "brothers-in-arms" connected and expand out competitive edge! We expanded from split screen to LAN parties! Then connected us to Xbox Live!

The Senior Standout (2007-2008)

The launch of the Xbox 360 and Halo 3 was the definitive milestone of my senior year in high school. It felt like we’d touched an alien artifact—wireless controllers and HD graphics changed everything. I had to work hard to afford these new tech specs! But while the game was a celebration, my reality was shifting. My brother went to prison, and my "crew" had moved on to alternative schooling. I was the only one graduating at a traditional high school. Our paths were diverging, but Halo 3 was the anchor that kept us together. It was our "last great stand"—the one place where we were all still on the same mission before life pulled us in different directions.

The Lost Years (2009-2025)

By 2010, when Halo: Reach came out I was too busy trying figure out my future. I was working multiple jobs when Halo 4 came out 2012. Then my first son was born when Halo 5 came out, in 2015. I tried to return to the world of Halo, but the new consoles felt like a foreign language, and I couldn't keep up with the times. I felt like the technology and games I once mastered, had finally moved past me. At this point, this chapter was closed forever. I had to give up what I once loved, to be with the one I love.

Full Circle (Today!)

The year is 2025. I am re-married and have 2 kids. I stumbled upon YouTube shorts and saw Halo Infinite! I saw that Halo infinite was cross platform, and free for online play! It’s now 2026, and I wasn't "too old"—I was just waiting for my new "fireteam."

Today, my son is a 5th grader that loves to game. I am now married to the most amazing woman, who sees value in my "geekiness!" I now play Halo Infinite with my wife and my son. We play on a cross-platform setup that would have seemed impossible in the 2000's. I’m on my PC, my wife is on her mac, and my son is on an Xbox—all of us together, while I am training them on Team Slayer: Snipers! Each time we play, I think about that poor middle-school kid who kept losing to my friends. That high school senior and college student that wondered if he would play again with others. And that new father that felt outdated with technology.

Each time I play with my "fireteam" I think about my past selves. They'd all be amazed to see that this full circle we call "Halo", became the very thing that keeps their family close today.

Thank you Halo for my "Great Journey"

mytanthach

La primera vez que jugué, desde que me acuerdo, fue Halo 4. La nueva era simplemente fue hermosa, absolutamente. Y de ahí entré a la franquicia más de lleno, y con el amor y la dedicación cada vez más fuertes a esta parte de mi vida que me dolería perder, y que seguiré repitiendo.

Desde Noble 6, el Novato, el Inquisidor, Jerome, el Equipo Azul, hasta el mejor Spartan de todos los tiempos: el Jefe Maestro, John-117. #Halo4ever <3

DeftBrick208655

I still remember the day when my older brother sat me down in front of the original Xbox, handed me a Duke controller and a copy of Halo: Combat Evolved, and told me something to the effect of, "This will be the greatest game you'll ever play." He was right, and 25 years later, he still is.

Halo literally changed my life. That's not a unique sentiment amongst fans, but that doesn't make it any less true. Halo opened my eyes to the possibility and wonder of video games and science-fiction. Halo informed so much of who I am as a person and my taste in media at a very formative age. Halo introduced us all to a vast universe, full of engaging characters, deep lore and heroic stories that continue to be told to this day. Halo was the first game I ever played online and it's still my competitive game of choice. Halo taught me how to engage in online communities and inspired me to pursue my own creative writing. Halo gave me extraordinary memories and lifelong friends.

There are so many moments I'll never forget. Coming home from school to find the Halo 2 steelbook waiting for me. Spending countless hours on the old forums, speculating and collaborating with other fans. Messing around with friends in Halo 3’s Forge and staying up way too late playing ODST’s Firefight. Reading The Fall of Reach, or the Forerunner Saga, or the Ace of Spades trilogy or any of the novels for the first time. Taking part in a Halo 4 tournament on my university campus and winning the whole thing. Feeling overjoyed when Halo Wars 2 was announced, and then again when it was released. Playing the betas for Halo 3, Halo: Reach and Halo 5, and the test flights for Halo Infinite. Witnessing the collective hype when Halo Infinite’s multiplayer was shadowdropped for the 20th anniversary. Being incredibly fortunate enough to visit Halo Studios in Seattle and go to the Halo World Championships last year. These memories and experiences mean so much to me and they can all be traced back to the feeling of awe I had when looking up at the impossible structure of the Halo ring for the first time.

I'm immensely grateful to everyone who has ever contributed to the Halo franchise, from game developers to authors to community members, across Bungie, 343 Industries, Halo Studios and more. I'm beyond excited and proud to celebrate the 25th anniversary this year, alongside the community and the talented people working hard every day to bring us new games and stories in this universe we all love. Halo Fest will be one for the ages.

The world may change, but Spartans never die, and Halo is infinite.

Mr Evil 37

I actually have two very special Halo memories to share.

The first is my very first encounter with the Flood. I started playing Halo: CE at 4 years old, and when I met the Flood on the level 343 Guilty Spark, I was so terrified I had to hand the controller to my mom. I was too scared to move forward, so I’d sit anxiously behind her, watching as she took on the horrors with total calm. From then on, any level with the Flood became “mom time” she’d take over, and save the day.

The second memory is from Halo 2. By then I was already a huge fan—I’d played through Halo: CE and couldn’t wait for more. One day while I was at school, the classroom intercom announced I was being signed out. I had no idea why, but when I reached the car, my mom said she had a surprise for me. My excitement was through the roof. We pulled up to Movie Gallery, and the second I saw the Halo 2 poster in the window, I knew exactly what was happening. She let me rent it that day. I eventually had to return it, but I got my own copy for Christmas that December. I’ll always remember the pure joy of that day and I have my wonderful mother to thank for both of these Halo moments that mean so much to me.

USCRuss72

I was a single mom raising 2 boys. I wanted 2 hang out with them & they painstakingly took the time to show me how to play. They had to practice so much patience. Creating these wonderful lasting memories we still have today over 20 yrs later & we have these games to play together when we are apart. We all have a lot of love for Halo games & for bringing us together during a difficult time after separating from their father. I cherish these memories.

Seamouse376737

I have been a fan of Halo since 2008. However, I saw it when it first came out. My former step brother had an Xbox and was playing Halo: CE. I didn't get the appeal. Shooting aliens that sounded like Looney Tunes characters didn't seem exciting at all.

Years later I was at a church held on a person's private property. I got to go inside and see Halo 3. I tried it out with that friend. Loved it right away. Shortly after my ex-wife and I got married and got the Xbox 360 Elite as a wedding gift to ourselves and got Halo 3. There were four or five of us playing just about every night. We had so much fun. Then after playing the multiplayer all this time, I decided to try the campaign.

Note to everyone: NEVER start a trilogy with the third part! I had NO idea what was going on, who was who. Then Halo 3: ODST came out. I beat that campaign on Legendary solo, then went back and beat Halo 3 on Legendary solo. Then Halo Legends arrived and I watched it. It game me a few more answers but not a lot.

Halo: Reach arrived. One of my other friends got the Limited Edition and let me borrow Halsey's Journal. I read it, and whoa! This book felt real! The journal seemed like it was based on a real person! The universe felt so real at that point! It was then that I was hooked on the fiction. I needed more. Much, much more.

I went out and got every other game. Played them, beat them. Then I got every novel and read them. Then every graphic novel. I craved the lore.

I now have every piece of physical Halo fiction possible. And even things that were digital only I ended up printing and putting into five binders. Back at my old apartment, I had a fireplace. So I stored all the Halo fiction in chonological order on my mantle. Hence why I called it The Mantle of Responsibility.

I have loads of Halo merch, posters of UNSC propaganda and enlistment recruiting. I have eight tattoos of Halo. Hell my license plate for my car says 0DST. Helljumper for life!

So that's my story. I love this fictional universe because it almost feels real. My ultimate goal is to someday see the Halo Bible at Halo Studios. And when the story of Halo ends (and eventually it will end) I'd love to have a copy of the Halo Bible. That or someday be involved in some official capacity in helping create this wonderful series!

ODST from 105th

As someone who just turned 31 and who has been playing Halo since buying my first Xbox with saved up allowance money, it's hard to get absorbed into any other community. I've always enjoyed and indulged in the rich storytelling of the games. I've often gone to bed with thinking of where the story could go and what happens between games, stories that don't even include main characters like Chief or Arbiter.

One idea in particular is a single player experience that takes place on High Charity, between the events of Halo: CE and Halo 2. Playing as a kind of Sangheili detective trying to uncover why there's a surge in heretic behavior all while leading up to the tragic collapse of the Holy City of High Charity. An open and gritty world experience full of plenty of emotional beats and action packed sequences with a focus on self sacrifice and coming to the realization of where you fit into in your environment and circumstances you were born into.

In this shared universe there are plenty of opportunities for sideline games that become immediate hits with the community, like ODST or REACH that don't follow the OG Master Chief.

Lyle the Forger

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My wife passed away from cancer two years ago. And now I’m battling leukemia. But before I continue, let’s take a step back to my first Halo experience.

Friday after school. My friend’s finished basement. 2002. And probably a box of freshly ordered pizza somewhere- because it would not be an official Friday night of video games with friends without the smell of freshly baked cheese and pizza crust.

My friend turns on his Xbox and put in the Halo: CE disc. The haunting choir humming the Halo theme in the start menu immediately sent my brain a visceral message that what I’m about to witness is like nothing I witnessed before.

The graphics, the sound of the assault rifle, the yelp of the Grunts when they got mowed down, even the feature that made the crosshairs turn red blew my 9-year old mind.

My first time playing Halo was a baptism in what an immersive video game experience should be like. And from that point on Halo and the Master Chief had a special place in my heart.

Fast forward to today. I replayed the Master Chief Collection on my SteamDeck during my countless days in the hospital. But it wasn’t just the act of playing that’s been getting me through. Throughout all the Halo campaigns, the Master Chief is dripping with stoicism, and it’s always clear that he’s willingly fighting for a cause bigger than himself.

“It’s our job to protect humanity, no matter the cost.”

“The missions change, they always do.”

These lines cut deep. The Chief is able to say so much with so little. They inspire me to push forward. And that I’m fighting for a greater purpose.

During my wife’s cancer journey and mine, Halo and the Master Chief impacted me in a way that no other piece of pop culture has and it will continue to give me inspiration and strength as long as I breath.

Brawniersteam19

Unlike a lot of people, Halo wasn't a part of my childhood, and for the longest time I didn't care. I bought the MCC back in 2023 out of curiosity and boredom, so my expectations weren't exactly high. Safe to say that I didn't know how much I'd end up loving this franchise: I played all the campaigns back to back, then started reading the books, watching the movies and overall just consuming any kind of Halo related media.

The amount of love and passion I was developing for the franchise inspired me to create content of my own. Back then, I was going through a hard time and so I stopped editing videos, fully convinced that it wasn't the right path for me... Yet Halo gave me the motivation to give it one more try. They were nothing special, but those silly videos made me realize that editing is what I really wanted to do, so I started giving it my all. This has also led me to connect with fellow Halo fans and some of them have become my closest friends!

Thinking about everything that has happened during these past 3 years has made me realize that Halo truly changed my life for the better. I'm not exaggerating when I say I'd be a completely different person without it. Glad to be here <3

Yagiou

Halo has always been a consistent part of my life and my development as a person. It was in the background of my early childhood for a while, having seen my parents and their high school friends play Combat Evolved on the classic Xbox as a very small child. It wasn't until a little later that I was properly introduced.

The first video game I ever truly played was Halo 3 at the age of 6. A friend of mine always had the newest games and consoles so I'd go to his house to play all the cool stuff. It captivated me and playing campaign, multiplayer, and custom games introduced me to concepts I had no idea were possible.

The first time I ever booted that game up something fundamentally changed within me and it's safe to say that my life was permanently altered. To say I was hooked immediately would be an understatement.

I was obsessed with the series from that point onward and my parents slowly got me all the games I was missing and then the consecutive titles that released. We even got an Xbox just to play it. Birthdays and Christmases would revolve around Halo for much of my childhood. The first game I ever bought with my own money was a Halo title, and to this day Halo is the franchise I've played the most, far outpacing anything else I've played.

I've always fancied myself an artist and a creator, and everything from the storytelling to the art style to the dialogue and the music has captivated and inspired my own work in so many ways.

This series has impacted my life in more ways than I can truly express, and I'm eternally grateful I've been able to experience so much of it, from its glory days to its new eras. I've met lifelong friends playing these games and made some of my fondest memories with it.

Halo is more than a game, it's an experience and a fundamental facet of who I am.

TUBBYDUCK717

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I wanted to take a moment to share what Halo has meant to me, not just as a fan, but as someone whose life was deeply shaped by it.

I’ve been devoted to this franchise since its debut in 2001. As a kid, I had just lost my father at five years old and was relentlessly bullied through school. I didn’t have a strong figure in my life to look up to. But then came Halo. Then came Master Chief. I saw him as a symbol of strength, calm under fire, and unwavering will, not someone who spoke much, but someone who always stood tall and did what was right.

I connected so deeply with the character that I made a MKVI Master Chief costume out of cardboard and a glue gun for a middle school dance (which I won best costume for lol). I sketched him, studied every detail of the universe, and never missed a game. As I got older, that bond never faded. I now have a Master Chief sleeve tattoo covering a huge part of my arm. And that's not just because I love the series, but because of what he represents to me.

Today, I serve as a police officer. And I carry that same mindset with me into my job. To protect others, stay calm, push forward. I see the Chief not just as a character, but as a symbol of heroism, hope, and resilience. You gave me someone to look up to during the most vulnerable time in my life and for that, I am forever grateful.

Now, as a new father, I have the privilege of raising a son of my own. And one day, I look forward to introducing him to the franchise that carried me through my darkest moments. I can’t wait to share my stories with him, the memories, and the lessons that helped shape who I am today. It’s a full circle moment that fills me with pride and purpose.

Thank you for keeping this world alive. It’s more than a game to me. It always will be.

xX McNuGGet Xx