It has been four years since Microsoft entered this latest generation of consoles with the Series X and Series S, and now the company is looking ahead to the next generation.
It has come to light in a recent leaked email from Xbox president, Sarah Bond, that the brand is “moving full speed ahead” on their “next-generation hardware.”
Xbox has been committed to backwards compatibility for years and hopes to continue
It seems that, this week, the company went all-in on a fan-favourite feature that they want to keep, moving forward by setting up a new team within the Xbox division devoted to backwards compatibility.
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“We have formed a new team dedicated to game preservation, important to all of us at Xbox and the industry itself," said Sarah Bond in the leaked email, confirming the plans.
Backwards compatibility is a sticky subject in gaming as many older games can be sold multiple times creating revenue, and as technology advances, older formats become archaic. This hasn’t stopped Microsoft from trying to keep gamers connected to their old games.
The quote from the email continues, “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."
Microsoft has tried to offer players different ways to play older games, whether that’s via discs, downloadable titles, or inclusion of jey games on Xbox Game Pass. Creating ways for players to revisit their old favourites is a key part of the Xbox brand.
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It’s great to see that Microsoft is committed to keeping games playable for as long as possible, something that many larger publishers and console brands are attempting, usually via subscription services.
As we move forward through generations of hardware, this will continue to be a sticking point for many as players demand access to games they’ve paid for.
Topics: Xbox, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Microsoft