Skip to main content

Xbox 360 backwards compatibility also supports DLC and multiplayer

xbox backwards compatible dlc 360 games 1 backward compatibility 970x546 c
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Microsoft made waves (the favorable kind) at E3 when it announced during its press conference that the Xbox One would finally support backwards compatibility for the back catalog of Xbox 360 games. It was a feature that a lot of people felt should have been present from the console’s launch, but it’s better late than never!

Microsoft recently confirmed via Xbox Support that DLC for your Xbox 360 games will also be supported, at the discretion of the publisher. Similarly, online multiplayer will also be possible, assuming that the publisher continues to keep the relevant servers running. Cloud saves and Achievement will also be carried over to the new console.

With multiplayer and DLC support confirmed, it looks like playing Xbox 360 games on the Xbox One will be a fully-supported experience. With the addition of new features specific to the Xbox One, such as the ability to capture in-game screenshots, this could actually become the best platform for playing these last-generation titles, which is no doubt part of Microsoft’s plan to convince holdouts that it’s time for a hardware upgrade.

Digital titles can be re-downloaded from the Xbox Live Store, while those on physical discs will be loaded to the hard drive after insertion. There is currently a small selection of games available to Xbox Preview users, such as Perfect Dark ZeroMass Effect, and Super Meat Boy, though no DLC yet. When the service launches in full for the general public this fall, there will be over 100 games ready, with more to come in subsequent batch updates.

Sony was as surprised as the rest of us at Microsoft’s announcement, apparently, as Sony Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida told Eurogamer. “I didn’t think it was possible. There must be lots of engineering effort. They talked about 100 games, but what kind of games will be included? Is it smaller games or big games? We don’t know.”

As for whether a similar feature will come to PlayStation 4, prospects don’t look good in the foreseeable future: “PS3 is such a unique architecture, and some games made use of SPUs very well,” Yoshida said in addressing the issue. “It’s going to be super challenging to do so. I never say never, but we have no plans.”

Editors' Recommendations

Will Fulton
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…
Persona 3 Reload leads a surprisingly strong batch of Xbox Game Pass additions
A character uses a bow and arrow in Persona 3 Reload.

Microsoft unveiled the next batch of new Xbox Game Pass titles, which are dropping between January 18 and February 8. Of the seven new titles coming to the video game subscription service over that time span, four are new games being added on the day of their release. The most noteworthy of those games is Persona 3 Reload, Atlus' highly anticipated remake of an RPG classic.

Persona 3 was first released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in 2006 and came to North America just a year later. While its sequels would go on to garner a bit more immediate acclaim, Persona 3 provided the solid foundation that they all built on. It is darker than those future entries, though, as you'll go from living your life as a Japanese teenager to shooting a gun at your own head to summon a Persona in stylish turn-based battles. Persona 3 is considered one of the best RPGs of its generation, and this remake brings the experience to modern platforms with a visual overhaul that makes it look more like Persona 5.

Read more
These Activision Blizzard games need to come to Xbox Game Pass this year
Sekiro easy mode mod FromSoftware Souls games gameplay difficulty

In October 2023, Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and by the end of the year, the latter company's CEO had departed. Now, this will be the year where we’ll see how Activision Blizzard functions when fully integrated into Microsoft. The most immediate change for those who play games will likely be Activision Blizzard titles coming to Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft’s subscription service.

Microsoft and Activision have explained that because of the tribulations the acquisition encountered, it was impossible to have Xbox Game Pass additions prepared almost immediately after the acquisition, as it did with ZeniMax Media. In the coming months, I expect we’ll finally start to see Activision Blizzard games trickle onto the service, even if we shouldn't expect it from this week's Developer_Direct. As Activision Blizzard is one of the oldest game publishers out there, having released hundreds of games, there are plenty of titles to choose from. I’ve cherry-picked the ones I want to see most.
Diablo IV

Read more
Xbox’s first stream of 2024 will include Bethesda’s Indiana Jones game
Harrison Ford holds a sword in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Microsoft announced the first Xbox presentation of 2024 on Xbox Wire: another Developer_Direct meant to provide insight on upcoming first-party titles. Of the four games confirmed for the January 18 event so far, the most surprising of the bunch is the Indiana Jones title from MachineGames.

This Indiana Jones game was announced by MachineGames in January 2021, just prior to the completion of Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax Media. Bethesda Games Studios' Todd Howard is apparently a big fan of the Lucasfilm franchise and is working closely with the developers of the Wolfenstein reboot games to craft this new adventure. Bethesda has not stated much publicly about it since then, although its Xbox exclusivity came up during the FTC trial Microsoft was engaged in 2023.

Read more