We all know Xbox is preparing for some sort of digital-first future. With products like the Xbox Series S (and the leaked Xbox Series X refresh), services such as Xbox Game Pass, and some games forgoing physical discs entirely, it seems the gaming giant is ready for gaming to go all digital, and unlike physical games, digital ones can—and often do—unceremoniously disappear. Despite this truth, Xbox hasn’t given up on game preservation yet, with president Sarah Bond reaffirming the company’s commitment toward the act of maintaining Xbox games for the foreseeable future.
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In an email sent out to staff and viewed by Windows Central, Bond discussed various Xbox-related topics, including the company’s plans to build hardware that’ll represent “the biggest technical leap ever in a generation,” how Xbox has become the #1 platform for Diablo IV following its release on Game Pass, and the company’s efforts to innovate in gaming AI. Also in that email were some points on backwards compatibility and game preservation, with Bond revealing that Xbox has a team dedicated to these matters.
“We have formed a new team dedicated to game preservation, important to all of us at Xbox and the industry itself,” Bond said. “We are building on our strong history of delivering backwards compatibility to our players, and we remain committed to bringing forward the amazing library of Xbox games for future generations of players to enjoy.”
This is an interesting sentiment coming from Xbox. The company has done an excellent job at maintaining the playability of older Xbox games thus far. Thanks to backwards compatibility, a feature seen in every Xbox since its inception, you can play many OG Xbox games on Xbox One or Xbox Series X/S without much of an issue. However, the Xbox 360 Marketplace will shut down on July 29, jeopardizing a number of games that are not yet backwards compatible. Meanwhile, some European retailers have reportedly stopped selling Xbox games, which will inevitably make it harder for UK gamers to get their favorite Xbox games on disc. And with the looming release of the Xbox Series X refresh, which will eliminate the disc drive altogether this summer, there’s a real fear that game preservation and ownership will be a thing of the past. This is especially true when you consider how many older games are lost to time.
Kotaku has reached out to Xbox for comment.
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In light of all that, the team has its work cut out for it. We don’t have too long to find out how this commitment will work, though, as according to both The Verge and Windows Central, Xbox will reportedly have more to say about game preservation during the annual Xbox Showcase on July 9.
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