Xbox president Sarah Bond has confirmed that backwards compatibility with previous-generation Xbox games will remain a priority for the company’s hardware going forward.
In emails obtained by Windows Central, Bond states: “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.”
Bond also reiterated the company’s plans to deliver an impressive technical jump for Xbox’s next hardware generation, which she first stated during an Official Xbox Podcast that aired in February of this year. “We are moving full speed ahead on our next-generation hardware, focused on delivering the biggest technological leap ever in a generation,” Bond stresses once again in this most recent email correspondence.
Impressive commitment
Microsoft‘s commitment to backwards compatibility has always been impressive, and with Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, it’s arguably better than it’s ever been. Both current generation consoles can play the Xbox One library in its entirety, and a healthy amount of Xbox 360 and original Xbox games are also playable. Better still, physical versions of these legacy titles will run on Xbox Series X.
That’d be all well and good in itself, but for some games, Microsoft elected to go a step further with enhanced resolution and performance patches. To this day, Xbox Series consoles are the only place where you can easily play Sonic Unleashed at a buttery smooth 60fps, for example.
Other games benefiting from these performance patches include Dark Souls 3, Fallout New Vegas, and the Dragon Age trilogy. If you’re curious, we’ve got a full list of Xbox FPS Boost games that look and play better than ever thanks to this enhanced backwards compatibility support.