From games being taken off stores with little to no notice, to older consoles’ storefronts going permanently offline, to online-only experiences being rendered effectively unplayable once their servers are taken down, the list of things that pose a threat to game preservation continues to grow worryingly longer, though some chosen few companies have been taking admirable steps to work against that.
In particular, the last decade (or close to it) has seen Microsoft leading the way with its backward compatibility efforts, with the company continuing to bring an increasing number of games from older Xbox consoles forward to current hardware in fully playable form. In fact, the company has now formalized those efforts with the establishment of a dedicated team.
As reports by Windows Central, in a recent email sent out to Xbox employees, Xbox president Sarah Bond revealed that the company has established a new team that is dedicated entirely to game preservation and continued backward and forward compatibility efforts.
“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.”
As per Windows Central’s report, Microsoft will have “more to share” about its backward compatibility and game preservation plans around the Xbox Games Showcase, which, as per recent reports, is set for June 9.