Insignia Fan Project Looks To Bring Back First-Gen Xbox Live In Late 2020

If you consider yourself an old Xbox head then you're probably going to be pleased at the fact that a fan project is aiming to resurrect the original Xbox Live experience. We're talking circa the good old pre-2010 days, when we were all trying to link up on Halo 2.

This original Xbox Live fan project is called Insignia, and it's being developed by Luke Usher, who has been providing updates for it on his personal Patreon. Usher is based out of the United Kingdom, and is also currently working on an Xbox and Sega Chihiro emulator for Windows.

According to Usher, Insignia is going to be free and it "will not require any modifications or patches to software" for owners of Xbox consoles. The goal for this original Xbox Live project is to have it up and running in Autumn 2020, which would be quite the get if you're nostalgic for the old days of Microsoft's multiplayer service.

Insignia aims to bring back to old Xbox Live services. In practice, this will involve users creating accounts on Insignia's servers which ape connectivity to an ecosystem much like the original Xbox Live. In the video above from the YouTube channel for the fan project, you'll go through the process of creating an Xbox Live ID, activating an Xbox Live subscription, and enabling connectivity to other users also using Insignia.

Theoretically, if you and some friends are using Insignia, then you should be able to mimic the original Xbox Live's functionality and enjoy multiplayer shenanigans in legacy games like Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon.

A "private beta" has been planned for the future, and many of Usher's Patreon supporters have expressed excitement for it in the comments.

The full technical specifications or requirements necessary to run Insignia have not been confirmed yet, but if you're absolutely keen on running Halo 2 with some friends then the Master Chief Collection for PC currently gives you the option.

On top of that, there's also a lot of upcoming Xbox news to look forward to. With the Xbox Series X officially unveiled earlier this year and plenty of talk about Assassin's Creed: Valhalla being pushed as one of the titles to watch, we've got our eyes peeled for future announcements.

In the meantime, Usher's May 22 announcement about Insignia should keep fans of the original Xbox Live service experience ticking along for now. If there are any exciting updates, we'll do our best to keep you in the loop.