Xbox just added 70+ games to its backward compatibility program. But this massive drop will be the last set of games added as Xbox announced licensing and legal constraints means it can no longer add games to backward compatibility.
Tucked away in the official Xbox Wire post announcing the latest drop of backward compatible and enhanced games, Xbox writes,” 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. Thank you for being part of this journey with us.”
IGN confirmed with Xbox that this is the final addition to the backward compatible catalog and that no new titles should be expected going forward.
In a statement by a Microsoft spokesperson the company says, "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. We know we’ve said this before, but we went back one more time to bring as many fan-requested titles as possible to the catalog to celebrate our 20th anniversary.”
The Xbox One was able to play a library of Xbox 360 games through backward compatibility. In 2017, Microsoft announced that it will extend backward compatibility to include original Xbox games.
The Xbox Series X|S carries over this feature and includes backward compatibility with Xbox One games as well as original Xbox and Xbox 360 games.
The big, and final, backward compatibility drop announced during Xbox’s 20th-anniversary livestream includes the entire Max Payne series, Skate 2, and the Dead or Alive games. Other franchises, like Fallout, received an FPS Boost when running on the newest Xbox hardware. Check out the full list of backward compatible games here.
Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.