In what could be seen as a big blow to the Xbox 360’s hottest title for 2007, many Halo 3 owners find themselves tonight with a major chunk of their multiplayer stats for the game missing, and Halo 3’s online matchmaking service is currently being reported as down, though this does not seem to be affecting all Xbox Live users. It is unknown at this moment if the two events are related.

The problem seems to be stemming from issues concerning Halo 3 Service Cards at Bungie.net. The online Service Cards are supposed to contain each Halo 3 player’s kill and death counts, as well as their match results, rankings, and any medals earned during multiplayer combat. Some players have not had their stats updated since Thursday, October 4, 2007. Others have not had an update on their stats since September 30, almost a full week ago. A select few seem to have not had any major problems, but these cases appear to be few and far between.

Multiple posts on Bungie.net have asked the Halo 3 developer for a reason for the issues, yet as of this moment, none has been given. Most speculation centers around data collection issues that Bungie’s servers may have experienced in the past week. However, there is the undeniable fact that this problem affects millions of Xbox 360 owners and Xbox Live members around the world who own Halo 3, and Bungie’s apparent silence on the issue is not helping.

Check back for any further updates on the issue, including any official response from Bungie.