A new patch launching today adds the ability to purchase backwards compatible Xbox 360 games directly from the Xbox One store, along with changes to party chat and achievement tracking.
While Microsoft’s Xbox One has managed to move over18 million unitsthanks to its focus on multimedia and its impressive library of games, there was a glaring omission on the system that drew the ire of plenty of gamers: The lack of backwards compatibility. While Microsoft initially claimed that implementing Xbox 360 backward compatibility on the One might be downright impossible, the company would later pull a 180 on this proclamation and unveil that the company was working to make theXbox One backwards compatible with the Xbox 360.
The new patch, available for download for all users, brings compatible Xbox 360 gamessuch asMass EffectandGears of Warover to the Xbox One store, allowing gamers participating in the Preview Program to plunk down the money for the titles for immediate play.
Microsoft’s Director of Programming, Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb, announced the patch on his blog, explaining the importance of the new feature by stating:
“Fans have spent more than 30 million hours plays Xbox 360 games on Xbox One and so it’s natural that being able to purchase Xbox 360 Backward Compatible games on Xbox One ranks as one of your top requests.”
In addition to bringing 360 games to the Xbox One store, the patch features a bevy of changes, including the ability to customize DVR recording length; improved Xbox One guide achievement tracking; the ability to include party chat in Twitch, expanding party chat to accommodate 16 people; and the addition of Xbox 360 achievements on the Xbox One.
With a recent bug revealing that fan favoriteRed Dead Redemptionis coming to Xbox 360 backwards compatibility, it’s clear that Microsoft is making backward compatibility a top priority. Sony has reiterated that thePlayStation 4 will likely remain free of PS3 backward compatibility, so with the effort Microsoft is pouring into the feature, the ability to play great games from (relatively recent) yesteryear may just give the system a leg up on the competition.
