Microsoft announced Xbox One was getting Xbox 360 backwards compatibility at E3 this year, a feature everyone but Nintendo moved away from this hardware generation. We havenât heard much since, so we decided to ask a bunch of game publishers about some of their biggest games.
On Microsoftâs Xbox Feedback page, itâs possible for fans to vote for which games theyâd like to see made backwards compatible. Itâs not a guarantee, but it does provide hope for those whoâd like a chance to play Red Dead Redemption again. (In another dimension, thereâs a PC version!)
The biggest ones?
I scrolled through the list and took note of every game that has more than 5,000 votes. That doesnât cover every game people are hoping makes the cutâsorry, BlowOut at 71 votesâbut it represents most of the major games people would like to play on their new Xbox hardware.
Of course, publishers arenât being asked to port their games to Xbox One. Microsoft is doing the heavy lifting here, having some up with a way to get the old games to run on new hardware. So while some games may get priority over others (see: Fallout 3 getting announced at E3 during Fallout 4âs presentation), we thought it was worth checking in to see if discussions had started.
Square Enix
Some of the best games from last generation came out of the merged Square Enix and Eidos Interactive. Sadly, the company didnât have much to say, and pointed me towards Microsoft.
With Sleeping Dogs and Tomb Raider, the company has released updates for new platforms.
Just Cause 2
Tomb Raider
Hitman: Absolution
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Final Fantasy XIII
Sleeping Dogs
Capcom
Technically, games like Resident Evil 4 as ports from an even earlier generation, which I feel might be creating a ripple in the time-space continuum.
âNothing has been confirmed at this time,â said a company spokesperson.
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 5
Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition
Dead Rising
Dead Rising 2
Resident Evil 6
Dragonâs Dogma: Dark Arisen
Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3
Ubisoft
The company with nearly the most games above the vote thresholdâEA beat them by a gameâbut they didnât comment. People sure like Assassinâs Creed, though, and want to play more.
Assassinâs Creed 2
Assassinâs Creed 3
Assassinâs Creed Rogue
Assassinâs Creed Brotherhood
Assassinâs Creed
Assassinâs Creed: Revelations
Assassinâs Creed IV: Black Flag
Assassins Creed Liberation HD
South Park
Far Cry 3
Splinter Cell Blacklist
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
Splinter Cell Conviction
Rainbow Six Vegas 2
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
Deep Silver
This question should have been targeted at THQ, former owner of Saints Row, but Deep Silver took it over in the last few years, after THQ financially imploded. Itâs looking good, though!
âWeâre currently exploring the options for backwards compatibility,â said a spokesperson.
Saints Row: The Third
Saints Row 2
Konami
Iâm not sure who exactly is voting for a chance to play Silent Hill: HD Collection again, but I donât blame people for wanting Metal Gear to make the jump, with the next game coming soon.
âGlad to hear about all the titles that folks are voting for,â said a spokesperson, âbut unfortunately we donât have any info to share around this.â
Metal Gear Solid 2 & 3: HD Edition
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD Edition
Silent Hill: HD Collection
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Namco Bandai
Hereâs one publisher who might not actually want you to play some of its previous games on new hardware, since they recently updated Dark Souls 2 to the Scholar of the First Sin Edition on both PS4 and Xbox One. My guess is plenty are still looking to play the the original game.
Whether or not that happens is an open question, as Namco Bandai did not respond to me.
Dark Souls
Tales of Vesperia
Dark Souls 2
Nordic Games
Like Deep Silver, this is another game franchise switching hands, thanks to THQâs disappearance. Nordic Games took over Darksiders, and itâs currently retooling the second game for a re-release on current platforms. That said, itâs interested in backwards compatibility.
âNordic Games canât confirm anything just yet,â said a spokesperson. âThey would like to make as much of their back-catalog compatible, including Darksiders II, but the program is still new and they need more information to properly assess the process before announcing anything.â
Darksiders 2
Sega
There hasnât been much love for Sega console games in a while, but we have them to thank for bringing Bayonetta to life, even if Nintendo ended up saving the franchiseâs sequel hopes.
âWe have no concrete plans at this time,â said a company representative, âbut itâs awesome to see the fan support for Bayonetta. Weâll investigate how we can support this internally.â
Bayonetta
Koei Tecmo
We havenât heard about the future of Ninja Gaiden the disastrous Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, but before Tomonobu Itagaki left the studio, he delivered the wonderfully difficult Ninja Gaiden 2
Unfortunately, the company didnât get back to me when I asked about the game getting support.
Ninja Gaiden 2
CD Projekt RED
The Xbox 360 version of The Witcher 2 is where I jumped into the franchise, and it was an excellent port of that game. Though the studio didnât get back to me about backwards compatibility, if you take a close look at Microsoftâs E3 press conference, you can spot the game:
Itâs towards the start of the chain, right in front of Assassinâs Creed. Thatâs not quite confirmation, but itâs better than nothing, and shows itâs certainly on Microsoftâs radar.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
Electronic Arts
The company with the most games on the list, according to my threshold, there are tons of EA games people would like to be playing. Mass Effect was even shown at Microsoftâs E3 event.
While EA didnât get back to meâmy email was forwarded along to someone, then promptly vanished into the digital voidâthereâs signs they are looking into backwards compatibility.
Yes, we ARE talking to Microsoft about making XBox 360 Burnout Paradise available on XBox One via backwards-compatibility! More news soon!
— Criterion Games (@CriterionGames) July 6, 2015
The full list of games, however, is much larger.
Mass Effect
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 3
Battlefield 3
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Skate 3
Mirrorâs Edge
Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age 2
Dead Space
Dead Space 3
Dead Space 2
Burnout Paradise
Need For Speed Most Wanted
Crysis 3
Danteâs Inferno
Disney/LucasArts
LucasArts doesnât exist anymore, so by default, Disney now owns the rights to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and its sequel. I tried scraping up some information, but didnât have any luck.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
Warner Bros.
Itâs possible Warner Bros. just doesnât want to talk to me right now, but it also seems like most companies are only beginning to explore how backwards compatibility will impact their catalog. But like EA, there are vocal developers already telling fans that itâs being looked into.
With Xbox1 (360) backwards compatibility… I wonder if it's safe for us to announce MK9 & Injustice for "Xbox1" đ
— Ed Boon (@noobde) June 15, 2015
Weâll have to see how that shakes out.
Batman Arkham City
Arkham Asylum
Arkham Origins
Injustice: Gods Among Us
Mortal Kombat
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Valve
Itâs true, Valve used to release video games. It feels like a long time ago, but according to a Wikipedia entry, it was once a semi-regular event for the company that founded Steam.
The studio did not respond to my question about backwards compatibility.
Left 4 Dead 2
Portal 2
The Orange Box
Left 4 Dead
Portal: Still Alive
Bethesda Softworks
If thereâs proof of preferential treatment in the games being prioritized for backwards compatibility, itâs probably evident in Bethesda being able to promise Fallout 3 would come free for anyone who bought Fallout 4 on Xbox One later this year.
As for the rest of the companyâs lineup? Weâll have to wait and see. They didnât get back to me.
Skyrim
Fallout: New Vegas
Dishonored
Oblivion
DOOM
Take-Two Interactive/Rockstar Games
There are a ton of games at the top of the list for both companies (if youâre not aware, Take-Two Interactive owns Rockstar Games). We already know Borderlands is coming, since Microsoft has demonstrated the game in action already, so it wouldnât be a surprise if the others do, too.
Theyâre not yet commenting on what might else might be coming.
Bioshock Infinite
BioShock
Borderlands
BioShock 2
Borderlands 2
Mafia II
Civilization Revolution
Red Dead Redemption
GTA 4
GTA: San Andreas
GTA 5
LA Noire
Max Payne 3
Activision
One has to imagine the company is considering some HD remasters of its previous blockbuster Call of Duty games, but we havenât heard any rumblings about that just yet. Itâs hardly shocking some of the biggest games from last generation are games people want to keep playing now.
However, as was the case with many other companies, they didnât respond to my requests.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty: World at War
Call of Duty: Call of Duty 2
Call of Duty: Call of Duty 3
Call of Duty: Ghosts
And while that does it for now, but Iâll be keeping an eye on backwards compatibility in the weeks and months ahead. Right now, itâs not available for all Xbox One ownersâthatâs later this yearâand I suspect weâll be hearing a lot more game announcements as that gets closer.
You can reach the author of this post at [email protected] or on Twitter at @patrickklepek
