If there’s one area where Xbox does a lot better than the competition, it’s backwards compatibility. Not only is the Xbox Series X|S compatible with all previously released Xbox One games, it’s also compatible with a lot of games that were released on the original Xbox and Xbox 360. Xbox has gone above and beyond in this regard, making backwards compatibility an option through physical discs, as well as the Microsoft Store. The company apparently plans to continue expanding on this part of its business in the future; according to an email obtained by Windows Central, Xbox has created a team entirely dedicated to game preservation.ย
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“We have formed a new team dedicated to game preservation, important to all of us at Xbox and the industry itself,” writes Xbox boss Sarah Bond. “We are building on our strong history of delivering backwards compatibility to our players, and we remain committed to bringing forward the amazing library of Xbox games for future generations of players to enjoy.”
Backwards Compatibility and Performance Upgrades
Video game preservation has become a hot topic of conversation over the last decade. The reality is, a lot of video game companies are notoriously bad at preserving their own history. Entire video games have been lost as a result of mismanagement, and there are countless games that are not available to play on modern systems. Not only has Xbox made strides to keep older games playable on its current hardware, it often improves those games in notable ways. For example, Sega has not made games like Sonic Unleashed and Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed available again since their original release; you can’t buy either of those games on PS5, despite the fact that they were available on PS3. However, not only are they available on the Microsoft Store, they were also given performance upgrades, boosting them up to 60 fps.ย
While the number of backwards compatible Xbox games is significant, the company hasn’t added to that list since 2021. A final batch of 70 games was added, though Microsoft noted at the time that “licensing, legal and technical constraints” would prevent any further games from being made backwards compatible. It’s possible this new team could lead to additional games being given that treatment; Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard in particular could help, as there’s already been an interest shown in bringing back Xbox 360 games like Transformers: War for Cybertron.ย
The Future of Xbox Backwards Compatibility
At this time, it’s far too early to tell what will come of this new game preservation team. It’s possible we won’t actually see any more games added to the backwards compatibility list, and we’ll instead see improvements to the existing library in advance of Xbox’s next console. Whatever the case might be, it’s good news for the future, and for those that enjoy playing older games on Xbox systems!ย
Do you care about backwards compatibility with older games? How often do you play older games on your current Xbox console? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter atย @Marcdachampย or on Instagram atย @Dachampgaming!
