What you need to know
- Xbox recently issued a notice on its Xbox Live status page announcing that some Xbox 360 games will be removed from the digital store on February 7, 2023.
- Some of these games, despite being backward compatible, do not display proper store listings on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
- Users who already own these titles will not be affected.
- It is not yet known how this update will affect store listings for the latest Xbox consoles with backwards compatibility, and we have reached out to Microsoft for clarification.
The DRM debate rages on, with Microsoft preparing to remove a series of classic games from sale as soon as next week.
Wario 64 and other users on reddit and Twitter noticed a service update for Xbox Live, explaining that Microsoft will be removing dozens of games from various markets on February 7th. This definitely has something to do with expiring licenses or something, but it’s unclear how this will affect Xbox 360 backwards compatibility on the latest Xbox consoles.
In fact, some of these games do not have up-to-date store listings on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S consoles. As such, it’s unclear if certain games may be removed from sale entirely when this update takes place.
Here is the list of games scheduled to be removed in the US:For other regions, please click here Link (opens in new tab).
- Aegis Swing
- assassin’s creed brotherhood
- Assassin’s Creed III
- Assassin’s Creed IV
- Assassin’s Creed Revelation HD
- werewolf blood
- blue Dragon
- break down
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
- Call of Duty: Ghost
- Castle Crashers
- Clyde’s clone
- Counter Strike: GO
- Dark Souls™
- Dark Siders II
- Daytona USA
- defense grid
- Eets: Chowdown
- Far Cry®2
- Final Fight: DblImpact
- iron brigade
- Jeremy McGrath’s off-road
- jet set radio
- left 4 dead
- Left 4 Dead 2
- Limbo
- lost odyssey
- mass effect 2
- exclusive deal
- Mutant Blob Attack
- N+
- Outpost Karoki X
- Peggle®2
- Phantom Breaker: Battlegrounds
- prince of persia
- RUSE
- Sega Vintage Collection: Alex Kidd & Co.
- skate 2
- South Park™: The Stick of Truth™
- Spelunky
- Splinter Cell’s Conviction
- star wars battlefront
- Star Wars Kotor 2
- orange box
- raven episode 1
- witcher 2
We reached out to Microsoft to clarify how and when each game will be removed, and whether it may affect a significant number of them. List of available Xbox backward compatible titles Available now. The majority of these games will likely still be available for direct purchase on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, though it remains unclear if any titles that haven’t been properly updated for the new system will be available. Some games are only available as “bundles”. orange box (opens in new tab) For example, these bundles currently do not have the appropriate store listings mapped to the latest consoles. not listed for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
Windows Central take
I’m often a strong proponent of digital buying, but situations like this are a reminder why physical discs are still important to offer consumers as an option. Services, and companies that have closed down, can cause games to be removed from sale, hampering all-out game preservation efforts.
Microsoft is one of the few game companies willing to invest heavily in preserving legal video games, either through emulation using Xbox 360 backwards compatible emulators on the latest Xbox consoles or through full native ports. Microsoft recently collaborated with Nintendo on Rare golden eye For example on modern consoles. License holders are often greedy or petty when it comes to availability. The disappearance of digital games from Apple’s and Google’s mobile platforms is commonplace, and if users don’t resist offering at least physical discs as an option going forward, we won’t see the same from their core consoles. I think so.
Be sure to update this article if you get any clarification from Microsoft.
