The Halo community is certainly no stranger to weird, wacky inside jokes. After all, it has a strange history with both "dabbing" and "T-posing", so many have wondered what weird joke would come next from fans of Xbox's flagship Halo franchise.
As it turns out, pizza was next in line, and it, along with the announcement of the Master Chief Collection (MCC) and Halo: Reach coming to PC, have unified the Halo community. This one was timely, too, as today is Pi Day. Here's the full story.
Where it all began
The origins of the pizza joke can be traced back to a Reddit post from March 5, in which user thewombinthesky promised that they would buy a pizza for the first 343 Industries employee who replied to his post if MCC for PC was announced during March's Inside Xbox stream on March 12. Shortly after, 343 Industries' Community Director Brian Jarrard (also known as Ske7ch) responded, asking "What kind of pizza are we talking about?"
Naturally, this got people wondering if the MCC announcement was coming. Either Jarrard was implying something, or he was just joking around. Regardless, things didn't get out of hand ... at least, not until March 11.
The emoji that broke the camel's back
On March 11, the day before the Inside Xbox stream, Jarrard posted an emoji that shook the Halo community to its core:
🍕🍕— Brian Jarrard (@ske7ch) March 12, 2019March 12, 2019
Instantaneously, the entire Halo community lit up and began to get extremely excited for what was to come the next day. Not only did Jarrard's pizza emoji seem to reference the original Reddit exchange, it also made people think that it was Jarrard's humorous way of saying, Yes, MCC is coming to PC. I expect a pizza. Soon after, Jarrard tried to say that he was "just craving pizza" in a follow-up Tweet, but community members were having none of it. In their minds, it was practically confirmation that MCC was coming to PC.
In the hours before the Inside Xbox stream, hundreds of Halo fans took to Twitter to flood everyone's feeds with pizza emojis, images, and animated GIFs. What was once a comedic Reddit post now turned into a huge community movement, and when the Inside Xbox stream revealed that all of the community's dreams for the MCC were true, something beautiful happened. In the spirit of the original Reddit post's promise, people had pizza delivered to 343 Industries' headquarters.
A lot of pizza, in fact.
The pizzapocalypse arrives
A pizza arrived. Then another, and another. And thus began the onslaught that can only be described as the "pizzapocalypse."
The Halo community is awesome. We're excited, too! Please, don't send anymore pizzas to 343 Industries. The building receptionist isn't here so it's getting logistically challenging and we really don't want to see food to go waste.The Halo community is awesome. We're excited, too! Please, don't send anymore pizzas to 343 Industries. The building receptionist isn't here so it's getting logistically challenging and we really don't want to see food to go waste.— Brian Jarrard (@ske7ch) March 13, 2019March 13, 2019
For hours on end, tons of freshly-baked pizza pies were left at the company's doorstep, to the point where employees had to try to explain the situation to their receptionist as more and more food arrived. Eventually, the receptionist left, and trying to handle all of the pizzas became a nightmare. As time went on, several 343 Industries staff members posted numerous photos of the pepperoni-fueled flood on Twitter, showcasing the chaos and getting lots laughs out of everyone in the community.
It's awesome seeing the Halo community pay it forward to 343 Industries for giving them MCC and Halo: Reach on PC, something that the fans have been asking for extensively for quite a long time. One has to wonder, though: Is there really such a thing as too much pizza?
If you're looking to enjoy some Halo action while waiting for the MCC and Reach to come to PC, make sure to check out the titles below!
Halo: Reach
From the beginning, you know the end
Halo: Reach is being brought to PC in its entirety and is also being added to the MCC on Xbox One. Of course, you can buy it standalone right now as well.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Experience the entirety of Halo history
The Master Chief Collection is a collection of every Halo shooter from the pre-Xbox One era, offering incredible value at an incredible price. If you can't wait for PC, Xbox One is still great.
Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. You'll find him doing reviews, editorials, and general coverage on everything Xbox and PC. Follow him on Twitter.
