Xbox waves backward compatibility goodbye with 76 new games

An unexpected gift as part of the Xbox 20th Anniversary celebrations, some true classics among them

Microsoft bid farewell to the Xbox backward compatibility program with style: more than 75 new Xbox/Xbox 360 games are playable on Xbox One S/X and Xbox Series S|X as of today, more than 935 in total. (Image: Xbox)

Microsoft threw an online party of sorts a few hours ago, celebrating the 20th anniversary of its Xbox line of home entertainment systems, and among the announcements made was a nice surprise (not at all spoiled by *ahem* leaks a few days earlier). Yes, that one: the Xbox games backward compatibility program that everyone thought was practically completed by now - the company had not offered an update on it in almost 2 years - came back for one last time, bringing along with it seventy-six (76) Xbox and Xbox 360 games that are now playable on Xbox One S/X as well as on Xbox Series S|X, enhanced according to each system's capabilities.

As was the case with many Xbox/Xbox 360 backward compatible games already, all of these 76 new ones are now playable in 2x, 3x or 4x their original resolution (depending on a given Xbox system's overall performance), while all of them sport AutoHDR color enhancement on Xbox Series S|X. On 11 of these titles FPS Boost is also enabled (for 26 already in the backward compatibility library too). Players owning these games on disc or digitally can start playing them today, while the vast majority of those can be purchased digitally by new players in the Microsoft Store tomorrow.

Fan-requested classics that made the cut in this final backward compatibility list update include the Max Payne trilogy, the F.E.A.R. games, many Star Wars and Dead or Alive games. (Image: Xbox)

Under normal circumstances, it would be absurd to just post a list of 76 games in its entirety, but it's the easiest way to just quickly go through them as (according to Microsoft themselves) it contains many consumer-requested titles that hadn't made the cut in previous years for some reason or other. So, who knows: maybe that one game you've been waiting for really is included in this last backward compatibility push! Without further ado, here they all are:

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

What is this? A Riiiiiiiidgeeee Raaaaaaaaceeeeer game playable on an Xbox Series X but not on a PlayStation5? Oh, the travesty! (Image: Xbox)

Microsoft did make a point to note today that yes, this really, really is the last time the backward compatibility list is updated. But hey: all things considered, absolutely nobody ever expected that program to run for that long. There are now more than 935 (!) different Xbox and Xbox 360 games on that list, an astounding number of titles that successfully made the jump from much simpler to much more powerful systems through a lot of coding work across three different hardware architectures.

Microsoft certainly deserves praise for that, even if many of us still believe that consumers actually buy new consoles for new, not old, games. For that odd evening when one feels like playing that old favorite from times gone by, though, that 935-plus library of past hits might prove to be just the thing. Not bad. Not bad at all!