Xbox Backward Compatibility turns One year old

Mark Coppock

Microsoft’s Xbox One Backward Compatibility program has been a resounding success by all possible measures. Tons of Xbox 360 titles have made the transition, and it’s essentially a free offering that adds significant value to Xbox One owners.

Today, the program turns one year old, and Microsoft took to the Xbox Wire to let everyone know. Here’s what they say about it all:

This weekend marks one year since the Xbox One Backward Compatibility program launched, bringing your favorite Xbox 360 titles to our Xbox One catalog so you can continue to enjoy the Xbox 360 games you own at no additional cost. It’s already been a big week with the additions of Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 to our library, as well as to the EA Access Vault, and the hits keep coming. We’re excited to announce the arrival of the highly-requested fan favorite, Skate 3, to our library of Backward Compatibility titles – available starting today.

When we first launched Xbox One Backward Compatibility as part of the New Xbox One Experience last November, our goal was to continue to put gamers at the center of everything we do.

We launched with over 100 titles and have added over 170 more in the last year. Today, you can play more than 280 Xbox 360 games on Xbox One, including my personal favorites, Blue Dragon and Red Dead Redemption – and the library continues to grow. We’re thrilled with the response and engagement we’ve seen from the community with more than 210 million hours of gameplay logged.

As we approach our one-year mark on Saturday, November 12, we continue to work with our publishing partners to grow our library of Xbox One Backward Compatibility titles, and we’ll keep the community updated weekly when new releases are available. And don’t forget, all Xbox 360 games available through Games with Gold since we launched the program last year are also playable on Xbox One.

If you’re an Xbox 360 owner with a significant library of gaming titles, then the Xbox One upgrade is made all the more appealing given the fact that many of your titles will be playable on your new console. That’s a pure gift from Microsoft to you, and you’re likely grateful for the support. Let us know in the comments if you agree.