Xbox to end backwards compatibility, won't add more old games to library

Microsoft announced that the library of backwards compatible Xbox and Xbox 360 games will no longer be expanded any further due to legal constraints. This follows the final inclusion of 76 Xbox and Xbox 360 games that can now be played on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

In a report by IGN, a Microsoft spokesperson is quoted: “Yes, this is the final addition of Xbox 360 and original Xbox games to the backward compatibility program. We have reached the limits of our ability to add additional games to the catalog due to licensing, legal or technical constraints.”

This final expansion of the consoles’ backwards compatible library came as part of the Xbox’s 20th anniversary celebration. This list of new backwards compatible games includes the entire Max Payne series, Skate 2, the F.E.A.R. series, and many more.

FPS Boost is also added to 26 existing backwards compatible games, including the Gears of War series, Mirror’s Edge, and Far Cry 3. There will also be 33 games getting FPS Boost on the Xbox Cloud Gaming service.

The full list of new backwards compatible games is as follows:

• 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
• Aces of the Galaxy
• Advent Rising
• Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom
• Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Make the Grade
• Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Burning Earth
• Bankshot Billiards 2
• Beautiful Katamari
• Binary Domain
• Black College Football Xperience: Doug Williams Ed
• Cloning Clyde
• Conan
• Darwinia+
• Dead or Alive Ultimate
• Dead or Alive 3
• Dead or Alive 4
• Death by Cube
• Disney Universe
• Disney’s Chicken Little
• Elements of Destruction
• F.E.A.R.
• F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
• F.E.A.R. 3
• F.E.A.R. Files
• The First Templar
• Gladius
• Gunvalkyrie
• Islands of Wakfu
• LEGO The Lord of the Rings
• Manhunt
• Max Payne
• Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
• Max Payne 3
• MINI NINJAS
• Mortal Kombat
• Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
• MX vs. ATV Alive
• MX vs. ATV Untamed
• NIER
• Novadrome
• Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee
• Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad
• Otogi: Myth of Demons
• Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors
• The Outfit
• Outpost Kaloki X
• Quake Arena Arcade
• R.A.W. – Realms of Ancient War
• Red Dead Revolver
• Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
• Ridge Racer 6
• Rio
• Risen
• Risen 2: Dark Waters
• Rock of Ages
• Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
• Scramble
• Screwjumper!
• Secret Weapons Over Normandy
• Skate 2
• SpongeBob SquarePants Underpants Slam!
• SpongeBob’s Truth or Square
• STAR WARS Starfighter: Special Edition
• STAR WARS: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
• STAR WARS: The Clone Wars
• STAR WARS Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
• Switchball
• Thrillville
• Thrillville: Off the Rails
• Time Pilot
• TimeSplitters 2
• TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
• Toy Story Mania!
• Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment
• Viva Piñata: Party Animals
• Warlords

The new games getting FPS Boost are as follows:

• Alan Wake
• Assassin’s Creed
• Binary Domain
• Black College Football Xperience: Doug Williams Ed
• Darksiders
• Dead Space 2
• Dead Space 3
• Disney’s Chicken LIttle
• Dragon Age: Origins
• Dragon Age II
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
• F.E.A.R.
• F.E.A.R. 3
• Fable Anniversary
• Fable III
• Fallout 3
• Fallout: New Vegas
• Far Cry 3
• Final Fantasy XIII-2
• Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
• Gears of War
• Gears of War 2
• Gears of War 3
• Gears of War: Judgment
• Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
• Kameo: Elements of Power
• LEGO The Lord of the Rings
• Medal of Honor: Airborne
• Mirror’s Edge
• NIER
• Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
• Rock of Ages
• Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
• Sonic Generations
• Sonic Unleashed
• STAR WARS: The Clone Wars
• Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment

Finally, the games getting FPS Boost on Xbox Cloud Gaming:

• Battlefield 4
• Beholder Complete Edition
• Dishonored Definitive Edition
• Dishonored: Death of the Outsider
• Dragon Age: Inquisition
• Dragon Age: Origins
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
• The Evil Within 2
• Fable Anniversary
• Fable III
• Fallout 3
• Fallout 4
• Fallout 76
• Fallout: New Vegas
• The Gardens Between
• Gears of War 2
• Gears of War 3
• Gears of War 4
• Gears of War: Judgment
• Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
• Halo Wars 2
• Kameo: Elements of Power
• MotoGP 20
• My Friend Pedro
• My Time at Portia
• Prey
• ReCore
• Shadow Warrior 2
• Steep
• Titanfall 2
• Two Point Hospital
• Wasteland 3
• Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

While it is a shame that the list of backwards compatible games will no longer be expanded for the Xbox, this last set of games is substantial, playing a role in improving the longevity of the games by having them be easily accessible.

With game preservation being an important topic for many, it is heartening to see Microsoft treating games with a certain degree of cultural and artistic import.

This article was first published in Geek Culture.