Phil Spencer "would love to find solutions" to save Xbox 360 games before store closure
Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said that he «would love to find solutions» to avoid losing Xbox 360 games when the digital store closes next year.
In a recent Xbox Gamescom 2023 interview with Eurogamer, Microsoft's head of gaming was asked about the announcement that the digital Xbox 360 store will be closing in July 2024 and what his stance is on game preservation.
Spencer explained that Team Xbox ships all of its games to PC because it's «the best ecosystem» and thinks for Xbox 360 games, backward compatibility through the Xbox Series X|S is «the best place to go for those games.»
«There’s a list of, what 220 games that are not back compat, 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.
«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 centre when all these decisions are made.»
He went on to say that preserving games that are linked to only one platform «is a challenge» because there are those who love certain pieces of hardware, but «mechanical things will break over time.»
«But that’s why we gave people with this decision a year,» Spencer added. «Let’s say 'hey, if you want to go buy things in the 360 store, we’re going to give you a year headstart, and you can go get those things’. And 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.»
The Xbox boss also recently spoke on the ongoing Activision Blizzard deal and explained that the acquisition is about «mobile capability» as Microsoft looks to grow its
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