Halo: Reach Doesn’t Run Very Well On Xbox One [UPDATE]

It’s awesome that Microsoft added backwards compatibility for (some) Xbox 360 games to Xbox One, but it’s hardly a perfect situation. One of most demanded games for compatibility, Halo: Reach, comes with a crappy frame rate.

Update (12/29/15 at 1:20 pm): Microsoft knows there is a problem:

“We’re aware some users are experiencing issues playing Halo: Reach via Xbox One Backward Compatibility. The Xbox engineering team is currently looking into the issues and are working to address them.”

With the end of the year upon us, I haven’t had much time to spend with older games. I’m still trying to find time to finish up the new games.

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That said, it’s not shocking Halo 5 has prompted lots of fans to dig into the game’s history. Thus, a recent thread on an Xbox One subreddit caught my eye: Halo Reach on Xbox One is pretty much unplayable. That’s a pretty bold claim!

They’re not alone! Lots of people seem to be having issues with the game.

I asked Kotaku’s Kirk Hamilton to load the game up earlier today, and he confirmed it “runs pretty damn crusty.” Unplayable may be slightly hyperbolic.

This video helps show what’s going on between the different versions.

Some have claimed the game dips into the teens, and while these videos don’t provide evidence for drops that bad, it’s clear the Xbox One version is worse. Most of the time, the Xbox 360 version holds steady at 30-frames-per-second.

Another video has a player explaining the biggest issue: the troubled frame rate means it’s harder to play the game.

So far, Microsoft hasn’t responded to my request for comment. Emulation can improve over time, though, so it’s possible Microsoft could smooth this out.

Others have mentioned problems with Gears of War 3, as well, but we weren’t able to personally test that out.

Have you noticed other issues with backwards compatibility? Let me know!