What you need to know
- Microsoft shared that the Xbox 360 store will be shutting down on July 29, 2024.
- Players using an Xbox 360 will no longer be able to digitally buy games or DLC, but players can continue to play anything they've purchased.
- The Movies and TV app will no longer function on Xbox 360 on the same day.
- Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S users will continue to be able to buy backward compatible Xbox games through the modern Xbox Store.
If you're still using an Xbox 360 right now, we've got some unfortunate news.
Microsoft shared on Thursday via Xbox Wire that the Xbox 360 store is being closed on July 29, 2024. Following that date, Xbox 360 players will no longer be able to buy new games or DLC. Players can continue to play any games they've already purchased and multiplayer servers for any games still operating will not be affected. The Movies and TV app will however also cease to work on Xbox 360 on the same day.
With that said, this does not affect backward compatibility on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox consoles. Players using those more modern machines can still buy backward compatible Xbox 360 games such as Gears of War 3 or Dead Space 2.
Microsoft first introduced backward compatibility on Xbox One with Xbox 360 games in 2015, with Original Xbox game support for certain titles announced in 2017. In 2021, Microsoft released a final massive wave of backward compatible titles, with support for games such as Max Payne.
Analysis: The inevitable end of an era
I am sure this will be disappointing for anyone who is still using their Xbox 360 to play games, whether for the authentic retro experience — yes, retro, it's almost 18 years old — or for the more likely reason of playing games that never got backward compatibility support for one reason or another.
That said, this was clearly inevitable. The number of people playing directly through Xbox 360 has to be incredibly miniscule at this point, but at least you'll still be able to play anything you've purchased. The bigger and more important information is that backward compatibility isn't being affected, so there's no need to worry if you haven't bought some of those games yet through your Xbox Series X|S, you still can.
