Cheers were heard when Xbox announced at GDC that to celebrate their 25th anniversary, their backwards compatibility program would be making a return. Envisioned as a way to make the Xbox One, and later Series X/S be able to play games originally released on Xbox 360 and the original Xbox, the project was shelved in November 2021, with Microsoft saying they’d done everything they could. But 5 years later, it seems they’re ready to do a little more.
Xbox’s backwards compatibility stands out in the industry. The Switch 2 and PS5 only have backwards compatibility with their immediate predecessors, and anything older consists of a curated selection, only available to repurchase digitally or as part of a subscription. Your old games won’t work with these consoles – but Xbox is different.
If you still have a copy of Ninja Gaiden Black from back in 2005, you can throw that right into your Series X and have it grant you access on the spot. Microsoft further expanding their selection is a godsend – and here are 15 titles we hope they see fit to add this time around.
1. Transformers War for/Fall of Cybertron
Cheating a little out the gate with putting two games here, but they’re so strongly intertwined that you can’t talk about one without the other. Before they were part of the great Call of Duty machine, High Moon Studios made solid AA titles. Easily the most beloved of them is this duology of games about the iconic robots in disguise. These function as origin stories of sorts, depicting the titular war on their home planet of Cybertron.
(image credit: Activision)
Gameplay was very standard third person shooters of their time, but with the added trick of being able to change into a vehicle. This alone added more variety to the gameplay, and made the multiplayer unforgettable. Superfans of the franchise also got to enjoy this take on an underrepresented part of the mythos, with no annoying human characters in sight. Unfortunately, these got delisted back in 2017, coinciding with publisher Activision’s license expiring.
Chances of being added? Not unlikely! Since Microsoft’s purchase of Activision, much has been discussed about bringing back older licensed titles. Furthermore, franchise owner Hasbro has also expressed interest in rereleasing these games, even bringing out a new toyline inspired by it. With both parties interested, we just need to hope and pray they can come to an arrangement.
2. Scarface: The World is Yours
Few games set the industry on fire like Grand Theft Auto 3 did. Suddenly, open-world crime games – hell, 3D open world games in general – were in. Many publishers wanted a piece of the pie, and descended with many a “GTA Clone”. Of course, as the internet waits with bated breath for more information on GTA VI, it’s clear none could dethrone the king.
Several original IPs, like Saints Row and True Crime, stuck around a while, but surprisingly it was also a big source of licensed titles. One of the more surprising ones was Scarface: The World is Yours – an alternative timeline sequel to the legendary movie starring Al Pacino.
(image credit: EC Digital, Activision Blizzard)
What followed was a fun, crime-filled romp that borrowed most of the pages from the GTA book, but wrote plenty of new ones of its own. While the Wii version was more well-remembered for its status as an earlier adult game on a family-friendly console, it’s still a great time on Xbox. It’s backwards compatible on Xbox 360, but that’s sadly as far as it goes for now.
Chances of being added? Not too likely, but this is a weird one. While the movie license (held by Universal) makes it a hard ask, and the original devs are a skeleton crew now, strange things have happened lately. Radical Entertainment have seemingly rebranded as “New Radical Games”, and implied interest in remastering their back catalogue.
Meanwhile, a mysterious company called EC Digital suddenly shadow-dropped a remaster of the game – based on AI upscaling and stolen mods – for sale on PC, before delisting it the following day. Exactly what happened remains a mystery. It showed that people want to play this game again, but might just have made the rights issues harder to navigate.
3. Sonic Heroes
After years of ups and downs, Sega’s famous blue hedgehog has settled into a comfortable place. Granted, that’s largely thanks to a set of blockbuster movies, but whatever pays the bills. But going back to that, some would argue that the start of Sonic’s decline was Sonic Heroes.
It marked a major gameplay shift from the Sonic Adventure duology, with huge levels and lengthy combat scenarios. The team-based gameplay made things more complicated and padded out the levels a bit, and some of the ports were truly woeful.
(image credit: SEGA)
Fortunately, Xbox got off with a much better port than the PS2. And even though the game has gotten a mixed reception, there’s no small number of gamers who hold Heroes as their personal childhood favourite Sonic. Not to mention, at 3.41 million sales it was the best-selling 3D Sonic until 2022’s solid Sonic Frontiers finally dethroned it. With all that in mind, it deserves a spot in the Xbox backwards compatibility library alongside Sonic Unleashed.
Chances of being added? I don’t see why it hasn’t already! Perhaps there’s some licensing issue with the Renderware engine it runs in, owned by EA. There’s also been rumours of a remake, which is usually grounds for making the original unavailable – but there’s zero evidence that this is happening. But beyond that, it’s a Sega game through and through – and it’s not their only old Xbox game trapped on old hardware.
4. Jet Set Radio Future
How can I understand the concept of love when I need to pull out an original Xbox to experience it? Jet Set Radio is one of Sega’s most iconic brands, despite only really consisting of one game that’s been ported again and again since its release for the Dreamcast in 2000. But what most probably don’t know is that there was, in fact, a successor.
Released in 2002 exclusively for the original Xbox, Jet Set Radio Future is less a sequel, more a total reimagining in a new, futuristic setting. Returning characters look totally different, but Professor K still sounds the same as he guides you through a revamped Tokyo-to.
(image credit: SEGA)
It wasn’t a total upgrade to JSR – while there was a greater sense of speed and tricks were easier to pull off, Sega added combat arena segments. It wasn’t very well conceived, and these segments are easily the weakest parts – the original game had the better idea of de-emphasising combat. Fortunately, the soundtrack is amazing as ever, once again thanks to lead composer Hideki Naganuma.
Chances of being added? Another case where it’s Sega’s IP and yet, they’re not letting it come back. While there is a new Jet Set Radio project in development as we saw as The Game Awards 2024, surely adding JSRF to Xbox backwards compatibility wouldn’t be stepping on any toes.
That being said, some of the music in the game is not owned by Sega and was licensed for the game. It’s possible they’re in a situation where Sega (or Microsoft) don’t want to foot the bill of re-licensing, nor is either party willing to try and remove the songs from the game’s code. We can only hope it gets figured out.
5. Skylanders Franchise
Once a titan of the games industry, but all too quickly fell off and back into nothingness. Skylanders was a huge deal when it debuted in 2011, using beloved mascot Spyro as the pitcher for this new IP. While the game itself was a standard family-friendly action platformer, how it managed its content was what stood out.
You’d unlock new characters not through gameplay, but by buying toys of said characters. In each one was a chip that would be read by the “Portal of Power” bundled in with the game, and by scanning them in you could play as them.
(image credit: Activision, Playstation.com)
It was genius – if expensive and maybe predatory – and was a big hit. Alas, yearly entries, as well as “toys to life” genre competitors, quickly oversaturated the market. However, the games remain special and memorable, and it’s a crying shame that the likes of Skylanders Giants and Spyro’s Adventure are stuck on old platforms. The newer ones, while on modern platforms, never received any kind of digital release (sans Supercharged).
Chances of being added? Unfortunately, the dependency on toys and the portal make Xbox backward compatibility a tricky deal. The game just won’t work without one, making digital distribution a difficulty. I’d wager there’s a higher likelihood of a remaster of these games, with the toys-to-life coded out and replaced with in-game swapping. There is precedent for this – look at Disney Infinity, a fellow toys-to-life game that made such versions for all three instalments.
6. The Simpsons: Hit and Run
Another one of the “GTA clones” of the 2000s, and perhaps one of the most infamous. Beloved and seemingly unstoppable, the animated sitcom has run for over 88 episodes and 37 seasons. While not perhaps as unavoidably iconic as it was during the 2000s (when is that second movie coming out?), there’d surely still be interest in a videogame. And where else to start but revisiting this 2003 fever dream?
(image credit: Activision)
You can play as any of the core Simpsons family (sans Maggie, of course), as well as Apu, and explore Springfield. Throughout, you can hijack cars at your leisure to complete missions – some of which are fiendishly difficult. That aside, it’s a great love letter for the franchise – and another solid GTA-like from Radical Entertainment, alongside the aforementioned Scarface: The World is Yours.
Chances of being added? This is another one that might see a remaster instead. New Radical Games put a lot of emphasis on Hit and Run when they launched their new website, possibly hinting at something in development. As handy as Xbox backwards compatibility would be for this game, a remaster might be more financially lucrative.
7. Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
I promise not every game here is from Activision, but they sure ended up with a lot of them! Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions was one of many yearly Spidey games put out by them, but this one’s quite special. Rather than being based on the movies, this was a team-up spanning different universes. Four different Spider-Men – Amazing, Ultimate, 2099 and Noir – work together and with Madame Web to restore order to the multiverse.
(image credit: Activision)
While it’s otherwise a standard action game, and a far cry from the modern-day Insomniac titles, Shattered Dimensions is still very special. It was one of the earlier depictions of the greater Spider-Verse outside of the comics, long before the hit movie Into the Spider-Verse made it a household name. Between 2099’s portrayal in Across the Spider-Verse and the upcoming Spider-Noir TV series, now’s the perfect time to make this game backwards compatible.
Chances of being added? Another one where it’s all about striking a deal. Game owners Microsoft seem very interested, but lately Spider-Man (and Marvel in general) has seemed very firmly stuck to Sony platforms. As perfect as adding it to Xbox backwards compatibility sounds, it’s far from a sure shot. At the same time, I’m not so sure about a remaster.
8. Crash: Twinsanity
It was a nice surprise to see Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time finally happen in 2020, but it was far from the actual fourth game. After developers Naughty Dog moved on after three platformers and a kart racer, many studios tried their hand at continuing the franchise.
While none of them are looked back on as fondly as the original trilogy, Twinsanity has the strongest following. Developed by Travellers Tales (studio behind the upcoming Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight), it offered a refreshed take on the series. That, and a striking art style elevated it over other attempts such as The Wrath of Cortex or Mind over Mutant.
(image credit: Activision)
While not without its glitches on account of a rushed development, it’s still the best of the 6th generation Crash games. It gives you the standard Crash platfoming and Wumpa Fruit grabbing, but in a new open-world format. While it’s surprising that none of the Crash games are backwards compatible on Xbox, if any of them had to be added, it ought to be Twinsanity.
Chances of being added? Crash now belongs to Activision, who belongs to Microsoft, so there shouldn’t be anything stopping them! There is a certain perceived indifference to the 6th generation Crash games, as seen with Crash 4 ignoring them all. It’s possible that they’re choosing to act like these games never happened out of shame, but if they’re serious about bringing back Xbox backwards compatibility, then Twinsanity (and maybe the others) feel like a no-brainer.
9. Burnout 3: Takedown
Ask 100 gamers their top 5 racing games, and this should show up on all of them. No other racing game strikes such a perfect balance between speed, precision, and aggression. After two OK entries, developer Criterion locked in with Burnout 3: Takedown, firing on all cylinders. Far from a standard racer, you’ll find yourself shooting down the wrong side of a freeway at 170mph, dodging traffic to build up nitro. And, of course, ramming opponents.
(image credit: EA)
It’s an exemplary racer, offering tons of races, challenges and a side mode all about causing the most destruction with a single car crash. All this, backed by a killer soundtrack. Burnout 3 is not only the best Burnout but possibly one of the greatest racers of all time, and it’s a little disheartening to see it stuck on 6th generation consoles.
Chances of being added? Difficult. Licensing wise, it’s a little easier than most racing games due to the fictional cars used. Manufacturers don’t like letting their cars be depicted as destroyed, which is kind of the entire point of Burnout. That still leaves the soundtrack licensing as an issue, however. It’s unlikely owners EA will be willing to budge, but if there’s any game worth doing it for, it’s surely this one.
10. Def Jam: Fight for NY
Probably one of the most unlikely games – not just for Xbox backwards compatibility, I mean to exist at all! Def Jam is a series of wrestling games featuring not wrestlers, but rap stars. No, seriously, you wanna see Method Man piledrive Ghostface Killah? Be my guest! The original Def Jam: Vendetta was a surprisingly quality start, but Fight for NY was considered even better.
(image credit: EA)
It’s hard to believe a wrestling game about rappers would be so good, but experienced studio AKI Corporation knew what they were doing. Not only was the gameplay based on their own earlier wrestling titles, but the story mode was extensive and well-made. Not to mention, Fight for NY added a custom character feature. By all means, a winner.
Chances of being added? Between all the likenesses and music, working out a deal with the Def Jam label is probably not happening. Even then, despite how well-regarded the game is, it’s hard to tell if it would be considered too outdated to draw in a new audience. It’s a real shame, but considering the game itself, we should be grateful it happened at all, let alone there being three of them.
11. Blur
The turn of the 2010s marked the beginning of a decline in racing games. But even during a bit of a lull in 2010, poor old Blur didn’t quite catch on. Mixing real-world cars with a Tron-like neon aesthetic, it blended the best part of arcade racers with the power-up array of kart racers. Developed by Bizarre Creations, it definitely had the polish you’d expect from the Project Gotham Racing team. Reviews were glowing – but sales weren’t quite there.
(image credit: EA)
Tragically, this failure was what killed Bizarre Creations, with EA citing Blur‘s underperformance as the main reason. It’s a real shame, as it had an exciting and compelling career mode. Not to mention, multiplayer had a bunch of modes, and the powerups lended themselves perfectly to the experience.
Chances of being added? Sadly falls into the traps of most racing games. Licensed music? Check. Licensed cars? Check. A big shame, but it would probably be better suited to a remaster with restored multiplayer servers if anything. Unfortunately, even that seems impossible with the poor sales it received at the time, with the reappraisal only happening quite recently online. Shockingly, EA never turned console servers off, so if you have your old console and copy, multiplayer lives!
12. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Before we had the MCU mashing together every superhero in the toybox on the big screen, videogames were doing it on the small screen. One of the biggest rosters you could find was in 2006’s Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, boasting at least 23 playable characters. The exact roster depends on which port, as well as DLC. As for the game itself, it’s a fun top-down action RPG, seeing you battle all sorts of iconic Marvel villains.
(image credit: Activision)
Looking back, it’s fun to see some of these characters featured long before they hit mainstream fame. All-timers like Spider-Man and Wolverine rub shoulders with Moon Knight and a pre-Ryan Reynolds Deadpool. The plot itself is great, and has a surprising amount of consequences for your actions. Every Marvel fan should definitely take this one for a spin if they get the chance.
Chances of being added? As with Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, this runs into potential issues with Sony having a firm grasp on Marvel games. A backwards-compatible release of Ultimate Alliance (and perhaps its sequel too!) might get around it, but it’s all dependent on Marvel and Microsoft reaching an agreement.
That said, Activision released a remaster as recently as 2016, so perhaps we’re more likely to see that relisted then a proper Xbox backwards compatible release. Still, a win would be a win, right? Perhaps it would be good to see the X-Men Legends games make the jump while they’re at it…
13. Mortal Kombat Armageddon
Once a juggernaut of the fighting game world, Mortal Kombat has fallen on hard times lately, with Mortal Kombat 1 not going down so well with the fans. That said, the IP still benefits from an iconic cast and cultural importance, as seen with upcoming movie Mortal Kombat II.
With all that in mind, it’s odd to me that several MK titles are missing from Xbox backwards compatibility, chief among them Armageddon. Some, such as Mortal Kombat (2011) and Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe are compatible, even though you can’t buy them. Extra confusing, considering the guest characters would make them the hardest to license.
(image credit: Midway, Warner Bros.)
While there are other MK games that also need to be added, Armageddon is the most requested. It boasted a massive roster of over 60 characters, a “Kreate-a-Fighter”, and even a racing minigame awesomely titled “Motor Kombat“. It did suffer from having only a limited focus on the fatalities, a disappointment considering it was the defining series feature. Nevertheless, if the far more disappointing MK vs DC can be backwards compatible, why not this too?
Chances of being added? There’s seemingly nothing stopping it from happening. Mortal Kombat could use a popularity hit right now, and rereleasing the old games via Xbox backwards compatibility seems like a perfect way to do it. And why stop there? Deadly Alliance, Deception, Shaolin Monks; bring them on!
14. Armored Core
Before Elden Ring, Sekiro and even Demon’s Souls, FromSoftware’s big mainstay series was Armored Core. Spanning an absolute ton of games over three console generations, it allowed players in-depth customisation of their giant mechanical war machine. Recently, we got a surprising return with 2026’s absolutely stellar Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon. Unfortunately, newcomers who want more have very few places to turn right now.
(image credit: FromSoftware)
Aside from a release of the PS1 trilogy on Playstation 4/5, no older Armored Core games are available on modern systems. The Xbox 360 got Armored Core 4, For Answer, V and Verdict Day. Having these made backwards compatible may not have seemed worth it then, but with a wave of new fans from VI, now is surely the time. If any of these were to be recommended in particular, For Answer offers the most high-stakes and exhilarating gameplay.
Chances of being added? Armored Core games have a nasty habit of being split between tons of different publishers worldwide, but things were at least resolved for the PS1 trilogy. Hopefully the same can be said for the X360 titles – although without their online content, V and Verdict Day will be left a little barebones. I think it’s a solid possibility we see one of these added in the return of Xbox backwards compatibility.
15. Godzilla: Save the Earth
Hitting the big screen in 1954 and still going strong, the big unfriendly lizard hasn’t had the best videogame career. But it was the 6th generation of consoles that brought forth a shining spot of quality releases. Of these, it’s Godzilla: Save the Earth that’s most beloved. Releasing for the original Xbox back in 2004, it brings all sorts of kaiju together in a fun 3D arena fighter.
(image credit: Atari, Toho)
It’s the perfect adaptation; the giant monsters are slow and weighty, and the citywide destruction is a sight to behold. A solid roster of over 18 kaiju from Godzilla history makes for a lot of variety, and to cap it off there’s even a proper story mode mixed in. It’s not high art – critics weren’t so keen on it at the time – but kaiju movie fans will feel right at home.
Chances of being added? With the hotly anticipated Godzilla: Minus Zero movie on the way, adding this game to Xbox backwards compatibility would seem like a no-brainer. Unfortunately, license owners Toho have always been stingy with the Godzilla property. For the moment, you’d be best off checking out Gigabash – a fun original kaiju brawler that even managed to get Toho to sign off on Godzilla DLC fighters!
Conclusion
Altogether, there’s just so many games ripe for being added to the new Xbox backwards compatibility program. What better way to bolster the Project Helix library than a ready-to-go assortment of nostalgic classics to complement their next-gen games that are (hopefully!) planned to launch alongside it? Of course, even this list of fifteen (well, fifteen and a bit) titles is hardly exhaustive – got any picks that aren’t here? Sound off in the comments!
