The “Halo 3” image in the windows of a Denver shop has now become an admired piece of video game history.
DENVER — A cracked and peeling mural on the side of a store in Denver is now considered a historical relic among gamers across the country.
The mural, which can be seen at the GameStop on South Colorado Boulevard, went up in 2007 as part of a multi-million-dollar marketing campaign for the “Halo 3” video game. It has since caught the attention of nostalgic gamers across the country — some people have even driven hundreds of miles to take photos next to the image.
This month, GameStop shared a photo of the mural on X, formerly Twitter. It received more than half a million likes.
“We’ll take it down when something better comes out,” the company wrote in the post.
The mural is so important for Parker Louison, a Connecticut resident, that he hired a photographer to visit the Denver GameStop so he could work on an upcoming video essay about it.
9NEWS spoke with Louison over Zoom about the mural’s importance.
“What does it say about a company keeping this up that’s just past its expiration date, purely for that sentimental value?” Louison said.
“It’s kind of like what they said on Twitter. This game met a benchmark that hasn’t been surpassed yet.”
Long before online gaming really took off on sites like Twitch, “Halo 3” attracted millions of players in online multiplayer battlefields. The “Halo 3” plot was also considered cinematic, with a craft of storytelling that rivaled movies.
The mural is also a relic of the time when gamers had to physically drive to shops to pick up copies of games, often during popular midnight release parties. Today, games can be instantly downloaded.
“So, it’s one of those things where I wouldn’t say a restoration is in order or something like that, but more so….. it’s kind of, ‘Enjoy it while it’s still up. Enjoy it while it’s still there,’” Louison said.
9NEWS reached out to GameStop about the mural, and a company representative wrote the following:
“GameStop once piloted giant window murals in the 2000s, and the few still standing, like the Halo 3 masterpiece, are basically ancient relics of gamer history. Featuring legends like Mario and Sonic, they’ve aged like fine Mountain Dew and our community wouldn’t have it any other way.”
