Next wave of backward compatible original Xbox games are coming Spring 2018

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Today Microsoft announced that the first wave of original Xbox games were joining the Backward Compatibility program on October 24, 2017.

A handful of games will be available tomorrow but what about others? Well, we have news regarding that. It's up to you to decide if it's good or bad.

According to a post on Larry Hryb's website, the next wave of original Xbox backward compatible games will come to Xbox One in Spring 2018. That's quite a long time but given the fact that each title is being upgraded with four to sixteen times the resolution, it makes sense. Older games require more care and given the fact that the changes are substantial, combined with outdated licensing issues, it's understandable why it's taking them so long.

This month's releases feature some extraordinary games like Ninja Gaiden Black (opens in new tab), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. All of these titles have since gained cult followings because they reinvigorated the franchise as well as their respective genres.

You can purchase them starting tomorrow on the Xbox Store or insert the disc in if you have them lying around after all these years. To truly see all of these games in their full glory, you probably have to purchase an Xbox One X because the games run at sixteen times the original resolution on the console. The Xbox One X launches on November 7, 2017 for $499 and preorders are still available on the Microsoft Store.

Keep an eye on WindowsCentral.com/Gaming for all the latest in Xbox and Windows 10 gaming, accessories, news, and reviews!

Asher Madan
Asher Madan

Asher Madan handles gaming news for Windows Central. Before joining Windows Central in 2017, Asher worked for a number of different gaming outlets. He has a background in medical science and is passionate about all forms of entertainment, cooking, and antiquing.
20 Comments
  • I want a original Xbox mini. Or OneX with the origin design.
  • I like the idea of a slimed down Xbox One with an OG casing.
  • KOTOR played like total garbage on the 360. I hope it won't be the same on XBone.
  • I just hope they don't add micro transactions to the original Xbox games
  • Oh I hope they do. Show for once that developers are rewarded in the long run by Microsoft.Imagine having a revenue stream now from a product you launched 10 years ago and how this will factor into future decisions with regards to platform and company.
  • wow someone supporting microtransactions...  You are obviously a MS "fan" because you're looking at it from the point of view of MS... :)
  • No he doesn't. If you want to brand him you would have to brand him a developer or publisher-fan since those are the ones who would gain from a micro-transaction system.
  • NEED THE GAMES AND THE X. NOWWWWW!!!    
  • My Guess is many of these will play better on the Xbox One, then they did on the 360 due to the hardware. That said, sixteen times the original resolution does not mean they will be able to improve the graphics. These games where all crated for 480p.
  • I stand corrected, the updates look great.
  • Why is it that most of the news and announcements I see about MS/XB in the last few days has been about old games?  For me, the marketing and hype created around these old games is clearly done to hype MS's will not not wanting to invest more on making new games/IPs... While the ability to play a handful of really old games on your new gen console is a nice feature, I personally buy new gen console to play new gen games that I can't play on systems I already own...
  • I wouldn't buy a platform that forced me to start from zero games. I want to continue enjoying good games no matter what generation they are made for. On my PC I still play some excellent titles from the 90's.    I don't get why people want their hardware to completely abandon your game catalogue each shift in generation.
  • @Giddora One question. Did you buy a XB1 before E3 2015? Next I NEVER said I wanted to abandon my catalogue. I said it's a nice feature, but when I buy a new gen console my priority is always to play new gen games. Oh and I NEVER lost my catalogue because I still own my 360 and PS3.
  • Yes, since I knew Xbox had always had backwards compatibility. My priority is to play games that I enjoy. I use one console.
  • "Yes" LOL ok then...Your comment says a lot actually...
  • Good, that's usually the point in making comments.
  • This is like saying when eBook readers came out that publishers are only going release new books on the reader. Why read old books on it when all those are still available on the shelf as printed books?
  • @FooseTV It's a bit different though. eBook readers is a new way of reading book. It has the convenience of being able to store a lot of books and it's light so great for reading on the go. Here we're talking about gaming on a couch in front of a TV. Nothing changes really. The idea is really to play again the old games I've already played years ago. Already I have a huge backlog so playing old games I've beaten is not a priority but also I already have the ols systems if I want to play these games. Why do I need to pay another 500 bucks? Here we are talking about priorities. I would prefer MS to announce many new games that will blow our minds. New stuff for a new gen console. I would have thought people would prefer to see new games on their new gen console but no. Looks like some prefer to play the same games they already own. :(
  • It is exactly the same, it's all about convenience. I like being able to play any game I own (which is way too many), no matter it's age and on my newest device the same as reading an old book. Also the idea that developing this somehow takes away development time on new titles is just inherently false. As if there's some finite amount of developers and they all can and/or want to work on games. Some people's passion is just working on emulators but have no interest in making an actual game. I'm glad Microsoft is giving those people and an official opportunity to do so. I'm a firm believer that options are always good. This is just more options for the player.
  • You know the major problem here is that there has been a big drop in announcements of new games made by MS. I mean the numbers are there for everyone to see. I'm sure you can't deny it. E3 2016
    - Forza Horizon 3 (the yearly forza)
    - State of Decay 2 (Indie game that could end up on steam) Gamescom 2016
    Nothing  E3 2017
    - Forza 7 (the yearly forza)
    - Next Ori (Indie game that could end up on steam)
    - Super Lucky's tale (Indie game that could end up on steam) Gamescom 2017
    Nothing And it's not just that. Major "exclusives" were cancelled( Scalebound, Fable legend, Phantum dust, the new IP from Coalition...), studios were closed down, projects (like Project Spark, xbox fitness ) were stopped... I don't think we can deny that they are investing less and the priority is no longer on making new games/IPs. It would have been totally fine if they kept making games for their gamers, but no. Here they are hiding behind a feature that is NOT vital. I mean I can play crimson skies and ALL my old games without the need to pay $500. I'm not saying the teams working on these emulators should make new games. I'm saying MS should invest MORE on making new games. I mean the competition which is a much smaller company is doing it..