To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Xbox brand, Microsoft has added 76 games from the Xbox 360 and the first Xbox generation to its backward-compatible game program for the Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. This way, you will be able to replay many of the iconic games created over the past two decades.
It is reported that each of the 76 games added to the Backward Compatible Project Library will support Auto HDR technology on Xbox Series X|S consoles. In addition, games from the first Xbox version will run at higher resolutions. On the Xbox One X and Xbox Series X consoles, the resolution will be increased 4x, on the Xbox Series S - 3x, and on the Xbox One S and Xbox One - 2x.
The list of included games looks as follows.
Show/Hide- 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
FPS Boost support
FPS Boost is a technology that uses a number of methods for increasing the original framerate on select games. Higher, steadier framerates make games visually smoother, resulting in more immersive gameplay. While not applicable to all games, FPS Boost can still improve image rendering, making it look better than what the original game might have delivered due to the capabilities of the hardware at the time.
The following games will support the FPS Boost feature.
Show/Hide- 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
However, some of the legacy games will never appear in the backward compatibility program. At the virtual Xbox 20th anniversary event, when announced the addition of over 70 games from the first Xbox and Xbox 360, Microsoft also noted some limitations. Some games will never be added due to licensing, legal and technical restrictions, as reported by Microsoft in a press release.
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.
Of course, Microsoft can reconsider its decision if it manage to come to an agreement with the copyright holders of the legacy games.
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Author: Sergey Tkachenko
Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube. View all posts by Sergey Tkachenko