Microsoft's Phil Spencer On Preserving Xbox 360 Games: 'We Would Love To Find Solutions'

Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, said that preserving Xbox 360 games, which will become inaccessible once the console's digital store shuts down in 2024, is a top priority for Microsoft Corporation MSFT.

While the community playing Xbox 360 games is relatively small, the company's backward compatibility efforts are "world-class," Spencer told Eurogamer during Gamescom.

"There’s a list of, what, 220 games that are not back compatible, and I have that list and I’ve got it stapled on my forehead, and like, how can we make sure [you can play them still?]," Spencer said.

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And added: "How many of those are on PC? That’s one thing, because it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to be able to play it on the existing hardware that you bought 15 years ago, but preservation is front and center when all these decisions are made."

The CEO of Microsoft Gaming stressed that launching games on PC instead of tying them to specific hardware is crucial for preventing games from being lost over time.

"I will say for us that preservation that’s linked to only one piece of hardware is a challenge. Because there can be hardware love as well — people who love and want this device to do this forever — but mechanical things will break over time."

"But that’s why we gave people with this decision a year. Let’s say, ‘Hey, if you want to go buy things in the [Xbox 360 digital store], we’re going to give you a year head start, and you can go get those things,'" Spencer continued.

Moreover, the executive referred to a list of 220 non-backward compatible Xbox 360 games made by VGC, which includes games like "Batman: The Telltale Series," "Call of Duty Classic," "Mortal Kombat Arcade," "Resident Evil 0," and "Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix", among others.

"Just know that the list of the 220 games is something that we see, and we would love to find solutions for those games to continue to play," Spencer concluded.

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