With the Xbox Series X just around the corner, many gamers are wondering what level of backwards compatibility the next-gen machine will have. When it comes to backwards compatibility, the Xbox brand is second to none. Starting with the Xbox 360 and up to the Xbox One, each console has provided backwards compatibility with the previous generation. And, in the case of the Xbox One, it provides backwards compatibility with Xbox and Xbox 360 games.
Thanks to Jason Ronald, Director of Program Management for Xbox Series X, we now know that Xbox has heavily invested in backwards compatibility. And, along the way, we’ve learned some new information on just how backwards compatibility will work on Xbox Series X this holiday season when it launches worldwide.
Thousands of backwards compatible games on day one
First and foremost, it’s important to understand that achieving backwards compatibility is an extremely difficult task. In fact, Ronald revealed that Xbox’s decision to include backwards compatibility from all previous generations influenced many of their design decisions on the Xbox Series X. From significant innovation in the design of the Xbox Series X‘s processor, all the way to the design of the Series X’s operating system.
To date, over 100 000 hours of play testing has been completed across a wide variety of genres by Team Xbox. And, thousands of games are already playable on Xbox Series X today. Ronald went on to explain that by the time the Series X launches this holiday season, over 200 000 hours will have been spent play testing backwards compatible games by Team Xbox.
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All games play better on Xbox Series X
Perhaps the biggest bit of information we learned from Ronald was that all backwards compatible games run natively on the Xbox Series X with no additional work from developers. What that means is, these games will play using the full power of the Series X’s processor, graphics card and solid state drive. As a result, games will run as intended and in many instances even better.
That means, higher and more steady frame rates, reductions in in-game load times, increased visual quality and resolution. And, a new, innovative HDR reconstruction technique can be used to add HDR support to games that existed before HDR. That means Xbox 360 and Xbox games can support HDR with no impact at all to the game’s performance.
Along with increased resolution up to 4K, select games will run at double their frame rates. From 30 fps to 60 fps or 60 fps to 120 fps.
The Series X has a Quick Resume feature that allows you to resume playing a game instantly right where you left off. And, we learned that this new feature works with backwards compatible games as well.
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Stay tuned for more Xbox Series X info on the Best Buy Blog
You can expect even more Xbox Series X news and surprises this summer right here on the Best Buy Blog. Sometime in July, Xbox will be hosting an event to showcase first party games from its 15 studios.
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