

Today we have announced that starting tomorrow (24-October, 2017) for the first time, you’ll be able to play three generations of games on one console. Bill Stillwell, who runs our Backward Compatibility program has posted details about the announcement on Xbox Wire.

Here is the full text of the post:

Starting tomorrow, for the first time, you’ll be able to play three generations of games on one console – a curated list of Original Xbox classics like Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge,Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and more will be available across the entire Xbox One family of devices. And when Xbox One X launches on Nov. 7, you can run select Xbox 360 games at higher resolution, 9X the original pixel count, and with expanded color details. Xbox One X Enhanced Xbox 360 games will include favorites like Halo 3 and Fallout 3.

Compatibility is important to Xbox, to developers and their games, and our community. Preserving the art form of video games is part of our DNA, which is why Xbox One is the only console designed to play the best games of the past, present and future. We’re excited to continue to deliver on our vision of compatibility by adding Original Xbox games to the existing Backward Compatible library.

Original Xbox games available now on Xbox One

The 13 Original Xbox games releasing tomorrow will look better on the Xbox One family of devices, taking advantage of the power of Xbox One with up to 4X the pixel count on Xbox One and Xbox One S, and up to 16X the pixel count on Xbox One X. You’ll be able to play Original Xbox games on Xbox One through the disc you already own, or you can purchase the games digitally in the Microsoft Store.

Since these are original games and not remasters, Xbox Live services such as online multiplayer that were available on the original Xbox will not be available. However, offline multiplayer scenarios such as co-op and system-link are supported as they were originally. There will also be no Achievements for Original Xbox games because this functionality was also not originally available.

Below is the first curated batch of Original Xbox games we’re releasing into the Xbox One Backward Compatibility program. We expect to release another curated list of Original Xbox classics in Spring 2018, so stayed tuned for more. And to help celebrate the launch of Original Xbox games into the Xbox One Backward Compatibility library, Xbox Game Pass members get access to Xbox Original Ninja Gaiden Black for free as a part of their membership to the game subscription service.

Select Xbox 360 games will run at a higher resolution on Xbox One X

When the world’s most powerful console launches on Nov. 7, you will be able to run select Xbox 360 games at higher resolution, 9X the original pixel count, and expanded color details. The team developed the Heutchy Method (after the engineer who created it) which leverages the power of Xbox One X to let the Xbox 360 emulator present the very best version of the game possible with the existing assets—all without touching the game code. The same method improves the graphics for Original Xbox games on Xbox One and Xbox One S.

Here are the Xbox 360 games that will join the Xbox One X Enhanced catalog on Nov. 7.

We created the Xbox One Backward Compatibility program for our fans and we’re thrilled with the response we’ve seen – gamers have spent more than 700M hours playing Xbox 360 games on Xbox One. It’s been quite the journey; the team has worked tirelessly so you can experience your favorite games across generations on Xbox One. Original Xbox classics join more than 400 Xbox 360 games in the Xbox One Backward Compatibility program, which also means we’ll have our largest console launch portfolio ever when Xbox One X releases on Nov. 7.

If you’re interested in learning more about the story of Xbox One Backward Compatibility, we encourage you to read this exclusive article from IGN. To celebrate this release, we are inviting fans to join us on Mixer tomorrow from 11AM – 1PM PT for a special stream with the Backward Compatibility team. We’ll have giveaways, gameplay, and will be answering your questions through the stream.

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