Xbox Backwards Compatibility Program Is Back, With New Ways To Play Their Iconic Games Coming This Year

Microsoft Gaming’s VP of Next Generation Jason Ronald has announced that Xbox’s backwards compatibility program is coming back.

He wrote this for Xbox Wire following GDC:

…And, we’re committed to keeping games from four generations of Xbox playable for years to come.

As part of our 25th anniversary later this year, we’ll be rolling out new ways to play some of the most iconic games from our past.

This is clearly coming before Xbox Helix will be released this year, raising questions on what Ronald exactly means.

Xbox’s backwards compatibility program brought games that were published on the Xbox and Xbox 360 onto the Xbox One, and then all of those games were also carried over to Xbox Series X|S.

The program did not include Windows PC gaming, cloud gaming, and for that matter, other game consoles. Microsoft has made deals with Nintendo to bring some Rare games over to the Switch and Switch 2, such as GoldenEye 007.

Other potential platforms for Xbox’s backwards compatibility include Mac, Linux (including SteamOS), virtual machines, and mobile. So it will be interesting to see how ‘new’ these new ways to play their iconic games will be.