Microsoft and Xbox are "actively investigating" a rampant 'can't connect' issue for backwards compatible Xbox 360 games — "It’s not select 360 games ... it’s all of them"

The Xbox Backwards Compatibility initiative Microsoft began in 2015 turned out to be one of the firm's biggest advantages in the gaming business, with countless longtime fans being extremely appreciative of the ability to carry their library of original Xbox and Xbox 360 titles forward to the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S families of consoles.

Though the program went on hiatus in 2021 due to licensing issues preventing further backwards compatibility additions, the feature is still frequently used by many Xbox players to enjoy their older games. For the last two weeks, however, a growing number of users have reported that they're not able to connect to the Xbox network when trying to play backwards compatible Xbox 360 games, preventing them from launching.

The issue was first reported on the Xbox Support subreddit earlier this month, where various players have tried a variety of potential workarounds (storage clearing, using a hotspot, power cycling, etc.) to no avail. The connectivity error then started to become significantly more widespread across the community, prompting Xbox Support to acknowledge the issue on April 22.

"We're aware that some Xbox Series X players are unable to launch select backwards compatible Xbox 360 games and our team is actively investigating," reads a statement posted from the Xbox Support account on social media.

The wording suggests that this problem is only affecting a handful of Xbox 360 games, though community members have asserted that it's an issue affecting all backwards compatible titles. "It’s not select 360 games like they said, it’s all of them. Keep reporting," wrote one in reply to Xbox Support's post.

Notably, there hasn't been a public update from Xbox Support regarding this issue in the week since it said it's looking into it, so we ultimately have no idea when a fix is coming right now. More users have since continued to report the connectivity error, so it's yet to be resolved.

However, multiple responses from Xbox Support staff to individual users have confirmed that this is an issue with Microsoft's servers, with one reply in particular stating that it's due to newer Xbox Series X consoles not being properly validated with the Xbox 360 servers.

With that in mind, it's unlikely you'll experience this problem if you've owned your Xbox Series X for several years. If you purchased it more recently, however, you may be unable to play some or all of your backwards compatible Xbox 360 games until Microsoft develops a fix.

Ultimately, it's good that Microsoft is working to take care of the issue, though it's still incredibly unfortunate that accessing backwards compatible titles isn't possible for many — especially since Xbox players have made it clear how much they care about backwards compatibility. Hopefully a fix comes sooner than later, though the fact one hasn't come after two weeks is rather concerning.

It's worth noting this problem has surfaced at the same time Call of Duty: Black Ops 2's servers have been offline for an extended period; we've reached out to Microsoft and Activision for comment on that issue. Ironically, it also comes after Microsoft said the Xbox Backwards Compatibility Program is returning this year, with many speculating the firm plans to make Xbox games playable on PC through emulation as it prepares to support the upcoming console-PC hybrid system Project Helix.

Have you been affected by this issue when trying to play backwards compatible Xbox 360 games on Xbox Series X? Did you buy your Xbox Series X recently, or have you owned it for a long time? Let me know in the comments, and vote in our poll about backwards compatibility as well.

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