Xbox’s Backwards Compatibility Adds 76 New Titles in Swan Song to the Program

Since it’s inception in 2015, backwards compatibility has been a staple in the marketing for Xbox. The feature has transformed over time into not only being able to play the games from the original Xbox and Xbox 360 you’ve already purchased on Xbox One and now the Xbox Series consoles, but to play them better in most cases, adding enhancements like Frame Rate Boost, auto HDR, and increased resolution.

During the Xbox 20th anniversary event, Microsoft has added 76 titles to the Backwards Compatibility Program, giving players a grand total of 632 Xbox 360 titles and 63 original Xbox titles to play on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. But with this good news also comes some bad. Xbox compatibility lead, Peggy Lo, has confirmed that the team has “reached their limit of our ability to bring new games to the catalog” citing carious roadblocks that will prevent further titles to come forward.

“While we continue to stay focused on preserving and enhancing the art form of games, we have reached the limit of our ability to bring new games to the catalog from the past due to licensing, legal and technical constraints.”
– Peggy Lo, Xbox Compatibility Lead

Now, this isn’t confirmation that more titles won’t come forward in the future, but it does mean that the majority of the work has been done on backwards compatibility. As licensing and rights issues clear up, maybe “through the passion and the feedback from the community” will more games be available over time.

My Take

Backwards compatibility may be something most players never use, but for those who do, Xbox is going out of their way to do it the right way. Phil Spencer has always been an advocate for saving old games for new generations. I love this feature. It has made a lot of my old games feel fresh again and almost eliminating the need for companies to go back and remaster their games. Games like Gears of War 2, Mirror’s Edge, Sonic Generations, and Fallout 3, among many others, all run and look better than ever. This feature is one of the main reasons I choose Xbox as my primary gaming device.

What are your favorite backwards compatible games on Xbox? Have you tried out the feature? Let us know in our Discord or our Facebook Group.

Read the full list of Backwards Compatible Titles here.

Sources: Xbox Wire, Pure Xbox, Xbox.com

Listen to Arsenal X: The Xbox Podcast

If you want to hear more about Xbox and the current slate of games, news, and more, you can catch Arsenal X: The Xbox Podcast Live on Twitch every Sunday night at 8:30PM Eastern / 5:30PM Pacific or on Podcast Services and YouTube Tuesday mornings at 7AM Eastern / 4AM Pacific. Thanks for listening!