Xbox Backward Compatibility Adds Last Games As Work On Scarlett Begins
They say that all good things must come to an end but Microsoft is making sure it won't end on a sad note. Xbox One's Backward Compatibility program surprised the industry for pulling off something some thought would be both technically infeasible and also a bad business move. Over that time, the program has added more than 600 titles from the original Xbox, a.k.a. the Xbox Classic, and the Xbox 360, becoming available to all generations of Xbox One consoles. Sadly, that library will no longer grow after this week but Microsoft promises not to worry because it'll be back soon.
Microsoft's reason for stopping the flow of new games is because of Project Scarlett, the codename for the next Xbox console. Microsoft is promising that this same collection will available to the next-gen gaming device and, therefore, they need time to make that happen. This suggests that there will be some considerable differences between Scarlett and the current Xbox One in terms of hardware and platform support for backward compatibility.
It won't be leaving Xbox One owners empty handed, though. As one last hurrah, it is adding the program's final batch of games from the pool of Xbox Classic and Xbox 360 games for the Xbox One family, especially the Xbox One X. There is even new content for some of those old games being given for free as part of the pack.
Original Xbox games added to the collection include Armed and Dangerous and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series, making the entire series available on the Xbox One. Xbox 360 fan favorites such as Asura's Wrath, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, and Too Human are also coming. There are also games like Banjo-Kazooie and Perfect Dark series that will be able to run in 4K Ultra HD with an Xbox One X.
Although it's definitely disappointing to hear that Microsoft has stopped short of bringing all the old Xbox games to the recent generation of Xbox consoles. Hopefully, it makes good on that promise that the Project Scarlett console will just be as welcoming of previous generations, including those from the Xbox One.