Seven years later, Halo 3's last known Easter Egg has been found

Halo 3's fan community has finally uncovered the fabled loading screen Easter Egg.

Apparently, if you press both thumbsticks on Halo 3's loading screen when the console thinks it's December 25, you'll be treated to a wider view of the Halo ring. Look carefully, and you'll see the ring displays the words "Happy Birthday Lauren!"

TeamBeyond uploaded a video of the Easter Egg, as well as gathering some backstory.

The Easter Egg has been referenced in two different Bungie Mail Sack Q&A sessions.

"There is one Easter egg in Halo 3 that I don’t think anyone has found – I stumbled across it in code a while back. It only happens on a specific day ... so good luck," a tease in Bungie Mail Sack 9.0 said.

A second reference in Mail Sack 13 was more specific; the original link seems to have been lost, but several forum posts preserved the text, as for example this Bungie.Net thread.

"Showing my wife the Easter egg I put in the Halo 3 loading screen for her – the one that nobody has found yet," Adrian Perez said of his proudest moment working at Bungie.

Watch the Easter Egg below.

Thanks, /r/gaming.