- Microsoft confirms its Xbox backwards compatibility program will return in some form this year
- The company has recommitted to the program for its future consoles
- This year will “implement new ways to play some of the most iconic games from our past.”
Microsoft has recommitted to its Xbox Backwards Compatibility Program for its future consoles and confirmed that it will return in some form later this year.
During his keynote at GDC 2026, where new details about Project Helix were announced, Jason Ronald, vice president of next generation at Microsoft, confirmed that he will share new ways to play some of his most popular Xbox games sometime this year (via Windows Central).
“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,” Ronald added in an Xbox Wire post.
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“As gaming spans more devices, we’re breaking down the barriers between console and PC gaming for more seamless play across devices, and we’re making the Xbox experience consistent across all screens. This also gives developers a simpler, more unified path to reach more players while helping to reduce development costs.”
The Xbox Backward Compatibility Program was announced in 2015 and allows players to play older games released for the original Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on current-gen hardware like the Xbox Series X.
In 2021, the latest wave of backwards compatible titles were released and Microsoft said there were no plans to add more games.
“While we remain focused on preserving and improving the art form of games, we have reached the limits of our ability to bring new games from the past into the catalog due to technical, legal and licensing limitations,” he said at the time.
Microsoft also announced that an ‘Xbox mode’, a full-screen controller-compatible interface for Windows 11, is coming in April.
Now that the company has recommitted to its Xbox backwards compatibility program, there’s a chance that classic Xbox and Xbox 360 games will soon be playable on Windows 11 PCs, as well as its upcoming PC/console hybrid console, Project Helix.
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