Microsoft launches legal action against fan-made Halo mod

It all started in 2014 when 343 Industries and Saberlight Industries joined together in the development of Halo Online, a title developed exclusively for the Russian market. The project eventually fell into oblivion until the 0.6 update that put project ElDewrito in the spotlight, a mod which has a simple purpose: to let players access servers where players are the hosts, with multiple choices of servers, character customisation features, stats, and even a ranking mode.

However, while ElDewrito was gaining more and more attention, Microsoft had started to become aware of the situation. 343 Industries for their part explained that this is a "common misconception" to believe that the files and codes were released from the legal embargo because of the cancellation of the game. Furthermore, according to 343, most of this data is, and will continue to be, used in the future.

The two teams of developers entered into discussions to find a solution to this delicate situation. 343 Industries shared a post that explains the uncomfortable position of the Halo developers as they want to support the modding community on PC, while being aware of Microsoft's well-honed legal leverage. Microsoft, in fact, has initiated legal action against the mod.

"As Microsoft's need to protect its IP spun up, we reached out to members of the ElDewrito team to have an open discussion about the project and the admittedly difficult situation we all find ourselves in," they said. "The ElDewrito team is understandably upset at this outcome given the time they've each invested in this project, but they understand the legal implications and the need to press pause on this work. One thing remains clear - the community really wants more Halo on PC. As we look ahead, we're very excited about the prospects of an official classic Halo experience making its way to PC and we hope to be able to partner with the ElDewrito team and broader mod and content creation community to help inform the types of experiences and features our fans desire. While we have nothing to announce today, please know that the PC community is very important to us and top of mind as we work towards the future."

What's more is that Xbox chief Phil Spencer also took to Twitter to talk about the issue, hinting a little at future Halo content coming to PC.

Were you a Halo Online fan?