Xbox Series X backward compatibility just got over 70 new games

Enjoy more than 70 Xbox 360 and original Xbox games

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Microsofthas added over 70 Xbox 360 and original Xbox games to its backward compatibility program onXbox Series X/S and Xbox One. It’s also enabledFPS Boostfor 37 more titles and has begun rolling out the technology to Xbox Cloud Gaming.

The announcement was made during Microsoft’s Xbox 20th Anniversary Celebration show and continues the company’s commitment to preserving games that span Xbox’s 20-year history.

Xbox owners can now enjoy the entire Max Payne and F.E.A.R. franchises, along with the whole Skate franchise as Skate 2 has been added. More than 20 original Xbox titles are also playable, including Dead or Alive Ultimate,Star Wars: Jedi Knight 2, and the Otogi franchises.

If you own these games on disc or digitally, they’ll now be available to play, with the majority open to purchase through the Microsoft Store.

As we’ve seen with previous backward compatible titles, every game added will benefit from upgraded visuals andAuto HDRon displays that support it. Original Xbox games will benefit from a 4x resolution increase on Xbox Series X andXbox One X, a 3x resolution increase onXbox Series S, and a 2x resolution increase onXbox One SandXbox One.

Titles that support FPS Boost will also allow games previously locked at 30fps to run at 60fps. Binary Domain, Nier, the entire Gears of War franchise, and all three F.E.A.R. games will benefit from FPS Boost, including many more.

For those who like to play Xbox games via the cloud, 34 titles will benefit from FPS Boost, includingFallout 4,Fallout 76, and The Evil Within 2.

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Of course, players can toggle FPS Boost and the AutoHDRfeature on or off by heading to the ‘Manage Game’ section if you’d like to play each title without any enhancements.

Analysis: keeping old games alive is important

Microsoft’s commitment to backward compatibility is admirable. Video games can often become inaccessible as hardware moves on and digital storefronts close, a trend that we’ve seen occur in the console gaming space for far too long.

With Microsoft’s latest console now supporting every generation of Xbox, long-forgotten classics can be replayed and discovered once again, and often look and play better than ever before.

Microsoft’s backward compatibility program has also shown its competitors likeSonyand Nintendo that consumers value playing the games they already own instead of having to pay for remasters and remakes. It’s also an essential step in video game preservation and stops games from being lost to the annals of time.

To celebrate Xbox’s 20th anniversary, we’ve been reminiscing about Microsoft’s big bulky box and ourfavorite memories, games and moments. It might not have been the greatest console ever made, but there’s no doubt that Xbox has had a massive impact on the gaming industry as a whole.

Adam was formerly TRG’s Hardware Editor. A law graduate with an exceptional track record in content creation and online engagement, Adam has penned scintillating copy for various technology sites and also established his very own award-nominated video games website. He’s previously worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor and once played Halo 5: Guardians for over 51 hours for charity. He is now an editor at The Shortcut.

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