Xbox hints once again that backward compatibility could make a comeback

Although Microsoft has stated that it has finalised its backward compatibility efforts, company representatives continue to hint that more games from the archives may work on new Xbox consoles.
Text: Jonas Mäki
Published 2026-05-04

Five years ago, Microsoft stopped adding backward-compatible games from the original Xbox and Xbox 360 to the Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X. The reason was that dealing with old licensing rights had simply become too difficult and complicated. Despite this, hints emerged a month ago that Microsoft had reconsidered and might have plans to add even more games after all, just in time for the brand's 25th anniversary this autumn.

We won't know for sure until the time comes, but we note that Jason Ronald, Vice President of Next Generation Xbox, is now informing users via social media that "there is a community-driven site where you can make your requests known" regarding which older Xbox games they think should be added to the list of backward-compatible titles.

He is one of the people most closely associated with Xbox backward compatibility and has been working on this since the very beginning. The fact that he is now effectively encouraging people to submit requests is unlikely to reduce speculation about more backward-compatible Xbox games, or what do you think?

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