Xbox One Now Has 300 Backwards-Compatible Games

One of Microsoft’s great strengths, going into 2016, was taking strides to improve the backwards compatibility in their console, a feature that’s been increasingly in-demand yet frequently ignored by the big three console developers. Unfortunately for Microsoft, 2016 was the wrong time to launch a blockbuster improvement to their console, and while I’m sure it’s certainly lead to some high praise, I very much doubt it’s done much to ship many more Xbox One machines.

Regardless, it's on this path, and it's going to see it to the end: in fact, 2017’s first batch of now-backwards-compatible games were just released, which knocks up the total number of backwards-compatible games past 300. Nice landmark, Microsoft!

Here’s how it works: if you have a hard copy of any of the below games, insert the disk into your Xbox One, and you’ll be able to download a digital version of the game onto your Xbox one, absolutely free. For everyone else, the games can be purchased and downloaded normally, like any game you might snag online.

Here’s the list of games, and their prices, in full:

• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - $20
• Battlefield 3 - Not available for purchase, must have 360 disc
• Dragon Age: Origins - $15
• Ghostbusters - $15
• Scrap Metal - $15
• The Splatters - $10
• Strania - $10

Of course, if you have digital copies of the above games, you’re out of luck. You also have to have enough space on your memory to handle all this junk, which really adds up after a while. Still, an imperfect system is better than none at all, and at least three of these games are absolutely worth revisiting despite their age.

Not sure I’d pay 15 bucks for Dragon Age: Origins anymore, though. Don’t get me wrong, great game, but have you seen the graphics?