Xbox Series X and S Backwards Compatibility Explained

With the arrival of next-gen consoles in mid-November, fans expect much more than just high-end specifications. There are several additional features that will decide the fate of the PS5 and the Xbox Series X/S. One such feature is backwards compatibility. Jason Ronald from Xbox’s team recently tweeted about backwards compatibility in Microsoft’s next-gen consoles:

Fans can play all the Xbox One games on the Series X and S

Since the arrival of Phil Spencer, Microsoft’s approach towards gaming has been limpid. The company is focusing on the expansion of its gaming eco-system and to do so it has ensured backwards compatibility in its consoles.

With this feature, players can play games that were originally built for previous generations. For example, a Series X user will be able to play Assassin’s Creed3, which was originally built for Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

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Jason explained that after 500K+ hours of testing, the developers are sure about the backwards compatibility on the Series X/S. Players can now easily play a lot of their current-gen and previous-gen games on the Series X and S.

“All Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One games playable on Xbox One today, except for the handful that require Kinect, will be available-and look and play better-on Xbox Series X/S at launch.”

What is the big deal with backwards compatibility?

A layperson might think a previous-gen game should obviously run on a next-gen console. However, consoles are built differently and games rely on a console’s hardware to run. As a result, developers have to work hard to ensure backwards compatibility in a console. In simple terms, they need to assemble Xbox One’s hardware inside of a Series X to ensure this feature.

For the fans, this feature is such a big deal because they can continue playing their favorite games with better graphics and performance. It reduces the burden of shifting the consoles while playing different games. Also, a lot of new gamers can experience old games on their latest consoles.

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Undoubtedly, backwards compatibility on a next-gen console is a very important feature. Both Microsoft and Sony seem to realize this. Consequently, the console-giants ensure that their users will be able to play current-gen games with the utmost ease.