Microsoft has been a leader in the game industry in terms of offering backward compatibility support for its Xbox consoles. The Xbox 360 received updates after it launched in 2005 that allowed it to play some games made for the original Xbox console. In 2015, two years after the launch of the Xbox One, Microsoft added support for a number of Xbox 360 games. In 2017, the Xbox One gained the ability to play a selection of games made for the first Xbox console.
For the launch of the Xbox Series X and S consoles in 2020, Microsoft gave those devices full backward compatibility for all games made for the Xbox One, along with all the Xbox and Xbox 360 games that were already playable via that feature. Indeed, the Xbox Series X boosted the frame rates and graphical looks of many of those older games.
Today, there"s a new report from Windows Central that Microsoft will continue to help past games, along with current Xbox Series X|S games, work on future next-gen hardware. The report says an email sent to Xbox employees this week, written by Xbox President Sarah Bond, included this statement:
We have formed a new team dedicated to game preservation, important to all of us at Xbox and the industry itself. We are building on our strong history of delivering backwards compatibility to our players, and we remain committed to bringing forward the amazing library of Xbox games for future generations of players to enjoy.
The same report adds, via unnamed sources, that we may learn more about this new Xbox game preservation team and its efforts, as part of the upcoming Xbox Game Showcase event, which is rumored to take place on June 9.
Bond"s email also reportedly and briefly touched on the company"s efforts for its next-generation Xbox console. In February during an episode of the Xbox podcast, Bond stated it would offer "the largest technical leap you will have ever seen in a hardware generation," She repeated that boast in this week"s email, and added, that the Xbox team is, "moving full speed ahead on our next generation hardware."
Game preservation is becoming more and more important for many players, and this new effort by Microsoft will certainly help in the efforts to keep legacy games playable for new and current gamers in the years to come.