Arguably one of the least expected announcements to come out of Microsoft’s E3 2017 Press Conference was that the software engineers at Xbox will be bringing backwards compatibility for original Xbox games to Xbox One and Xbox One X later this year. The team specifically mentioned Crimson Skies in the announcement, but we’re sure more will hit the service later on.
Orignal Xbox games such as Voodoo Vince and Phantom Dust have both enjoyed renewed interest thanks to their remasters hitting Xbox One, but this process will presumably be much easier to bring games to the newer Xbox family of consoles.
More interestingly, Albert Penello at Xbox’s marketing team has also confirmed that it’ll function similarly to Xbox 360 backwards compatibility. That is: you’ll be able to use your original Xbox discs to play the games without having to purchase them again digitally and any existing digital licenses will transfer over.
Your original Xbox discs will work. Digital licenses will carry over. AND you can system-link play across all three generations.
— Albert Penello (@albertpenello) June 12, 2017
I personally enjoyed so many games on the original Xbox – including but not limited to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire and Conker: Live & Reloaded. Hopefully we’ll see Microsoft and other publishers embrace this system with as much gusto as they did for 360 Backwards Compatibility.
