[Update: 4/26/2018] According to a post on the official ElDewrito website, development is temporarily halted, but you can still download the mod so long as it’s not attached to, distributed with, or affiliated with Halo Online. In the blog post they explain…
“BTW, we’re not “shutting down the mod” or going after the Eldewrito crew – we’re enacting action to remove the Halo Online code and packages from places it’s being hosted.. “
There was no Cease and Desist, no DMCA, just an brief conversation about what they suggest we do.
[…] “However, it appears that any Microsoft assets required to play the game (MS23 builds, Full 0.6 game zips, ect) will likely be taken down by Microsoft. All we know is that have been told to temporarily halt development until more information is available, and we must honor this request.”
This means no more development on the ElDewrito mod, and no more distribution of Halo Online via the public domain. However, if you already have the mod you can continue to play it, and it is possible to also download the mod from legitimate sources, so long as it does not contain Microsoft’s copyrighted assets.
[Original article:] Microsoft shut down the distribution of assets attached to the ElDewrito project for Halo Online. They had 343 Industries do their dirty work by making a post about the closure of the community project over on the official Halo Waypoint website.
As noted by 343…
“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. 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”
It’s quite obvious that PC gamers do want more Halo on PC, but Microsoft is in no rush to give it to them. In fact, the source that ElDewrito is based on is the MOFPS for Russia, Halo Online.
The first-person shooter was shut down back in August of 2016, as reported by MMOs.com.
Gamers who wanted to continue to play Halo Online were fresh out of luck. Modders managed to get their hands on some leaked content from the online shooter and reverse engineered some gameplay out of it in the form of ElDewrito.
Given that Microsoft hates money from its gaming sector and hates for gamers to have fun, it was a no-brainer that they would shut down the community made multiplayer in order to spite Halo fans. Heck, they wouldn’t even take time out to properly fund 343 to fix Halo: The Master Chief Collection’s broken multiplayer until just this year, and that game has been out for four years already.
As noted by 343 Industries, there are no plans to make a new Halo for PC and there are no plans to allow PC gamers to play Halo Online in any legitimate capacity. It’s abandonware in all but name, but Microsoft claims that the code and assets are being used elsewhere…
“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. “
Hopefully you managed to get in the good times and fun moments while ElDewrito lasted, because it’s going to be the last you see of it for a very, very long time.
(Thanks for the news tip Wisdomcube2000)
