Is the Xbox One backward compatible with the Xbox 360?

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So you finally upgraded to an Xbox One from your Xbox 360. That’s cool, but what about all the games and achievements and more importantly, save files that you collected on your older console?

One of the biggest issues with consoles and updating to newer versions is that, depending on your situation, those old consoles and games are traded in or forgotten in a closet because your new console doesn’t work with those classic games.

Is the Xbox One backwards compatible with the 360 and original Xbox?

Short answer: Yes, but you’ll still need to do a bit of research to figure out which games work

So, Microsoft did something super cool with the Xbox One, backwards compatibility. That means you could (in theory) stick an Xbox or Xbox 360 game disc into the drive on the Xbox One, and have it run as if it was on the original console.

Except… what happened is that Microsoft ported a growing selection of older games to be able to run on the Xbox One.

That means you could still play them, but only if they were on the list. Currently, there are 575 from the Xbox 360 era, and 41 from the original Xbox.

What’s even cooler is that Microsoft also made it possible to transfer game save files from the Xbox 360 to the Xbox One. All you have to do is save those files to the cloud from your Xbox 360. Simple.

What do you think? Do you use your Xbox One to play older Xbox games? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. Click here for more.

Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.