The Xbox 360 Store is closing down next year
Microsoft has announced that they will be shutting down the Xbox 360 store on 29th July 2024, bringing an end to close to two decades of digital game buying on their most successful home console.
Additionally, the Microsoft Movies & TV app will no longer work on the Xbox 360, cutting off TV and movie content in its entirety on the ageing consoles.
However, this will not affect the ability to continue playing digital Xbox 360 games or DLC that are purchased prior to that cut off point, and backward compatible games on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S will still be available to purchase. This is purely affecting the Xbox 360 console’s ability to buy games and DLC.
In the announcement post, Dave McCarthy, CVP Xbox Player Services says, “What has not changed is our commitment to preserving your ability to play the content you have already purchased on your preferred device, which means we are committed to supporting Xbox 360 gameplay for the foreseeable future – and you will still be able to play and re-download previously purchased content and connect with friends.”
Further to that, a brief FAQ confirms that cloud saves will still be active, and progress can carry over between console generations with backward compatibility, and that this does not affect online multiplayer servers, which are dependent on the game publisher’s support. Xbox Live will still support the 360.
Further information can be found on this Xbox Support page.
Microsoft’s decision to shut down the Xbox 360 store comes following similar moves by Sony and Nintendo. Nintendo has closed the Nintendo eShop for both Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Wii U this year, while the Wii Shopping Channel closed down in 2019. Sony had announced in 2021 their intention to shut down the
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