Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Games & How They Work

Thanks to Microsoft’s Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Program, upgrading from an Xbox 360 to an Xbox One is a bit easier when compared to other gaming platforms. You can actually play Call of Duty Black Ops 2 on the Xbox One.

Whereas Sony charges for access to older titles through the PS4, Xbox One allows you to take your favorite games with you when you upgrade. Even though you’re playing an Xbox 360 game on your newer console, you still get many of the game’s features, plus the ability to record gameplay and more.

Here’s what you need to know about the Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Program and a list of every game that currently works with the program.

How Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Works

As described by Microsoft at E3 2015, the Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Program is almost magical in its simplicity. The program revolves around Microsoft and its publishing partners working through their back catalog of Xbox 360 games to add support for Xbox One. Video game developers don’t have to rewrite their game. Instead, Microsoft emulates the Xbox 360 inside the Xbox One.

As far as the game knows, it’s still running on the Xbox 360. You have access to the same multiplayer modes that you did with the Xbox 360 version of the game. The familiar Xbox Guide from the Xbox 360 surfaces in each game too. Cloud saves are imported to the Xbox One, provided that users still have them. This means that you can pick up exactly where you left off on titles you haven’t touched in ages.

Besides offering up Live’s online capabilities, games in the Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Program pick up some features specific to Xbox One games. Users can record video and take screenshots from their Xbox 360 games.

Also, Xbox 360 games surface Achievements in the Activity Feed when they’re unlocked. Switching between two digital Xbox 360 games doesn’t require you to switch discs, though switching between to physical Xbox 360 games does.

Xbox One Backward Compatibility Is Free

The key to making the Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Program relevant is ease of use. Microsoft can say that it supports backward compatibility all it wants, but if it’s too difficult to get going, no one will use it.

Digital Xbox 360 games that you’ve purchased surface in the Xbox One’s My Games and Apps menu once they’re available. They’re easily identifiable as they have their original cover complete with an Xbox 360 logo to the side. Download them to your console and you’re ready to go. Because Xbox 360 titles had smaller file sizes, the download should go by quickly.

You can purchase compatible Xbox 360 games from the Xbox Store now too, with new titles surfacing when they’re available.

For owners of disc-based Xbox 360 games, there’s only a bit more work required for Xbox One backwards compatibility. Simply putting in your Xbox 360 game disc into your Xbox One unlocks a compatible version for the Xbox One. The same stipulations apply, not just any game will work; it’ll need to be among the titles supported. The game will install a companion digital version on your Xbox One.

You’ll need to hang on to your disc to use that digital game that’s downloaded.

Latest Additions to Xbox One Backwards Compatibility

For the program to be a success, Microsoft will need to continue adding all types of titles. After a strong of low-profile additions, the company recent revealed that Call of Duty Black Ops 2 is now available through the Xbox One Backwards Compatability program. The program recently picked up Assassin’s Creed Revelations too.

Titles That Support Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Program Has Today

Microsoft kicked off the Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Program with a list of 100+ games. Since then, it has added new titles at a steady clip. Some of them are big brands that you’ll remember. Others are Arcade and independently developed titles from the Xbox 360.

If a game is listed as “Disc Only,” those with a digital copy of the game can’t use that copy to play on their Xbox One.

Xbox 360 games available through Xbox One Backwards Compatibility today are:

• A
• A Kingdom for Keflings
• A World of Keflings
• Aegis Wing
• Age of Booty
• Alan Wake
• Alan Wake’s American Nightmare
• Altered Beast
• Alice: Madness Returns
• Alien Hominid HD
• Anomaly Warzone Earth
• Aqua
• Arkanoid LIVE!
• Army of Two
• Assassin’s Creed
• Assassin’s Creed II
• Assassin’s Creed Rogue
• Assassin’s Creed Revelations
• Asteroids & Deluxe
• Astropop

• B
• Babel Rising
• Banjo Kazooie: N n B
• Banjo Tooie
• Banjo Kazooie
• BattleBlock Theater
• Battlefield 3 (Disc Only)
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2
• Battlestations: Midway
• Bayonetta
• Beat’n Groovy
• Bejeweled 2
• Bejeweled 3
• Bellator: MMA Onslaught
• Beyond Good & Evil HD
• Bionic Commando Rearmed 2
• Bioshock
• Bioshock 2
• Bioshock Infinite
• Bloodforge
• Blood Knights
• Blood of the Werewolf
• BloodRayne: Betrayal
• Bomberman Battlefest
• Boom Boom Rocket
• Borderlands
• Borderlands 2
• Bound by Flame
• Braid
• Brain Challenge
• Bully Scholarship Edition
• Burnout Paradise

• C
• Call of Duty 2
• Call of Duty 3
• Call of Duty Black Ops
• Call of Duty Black Ops 2
• Call of Duty World at War
• Call of Juarez® Gunslinger
• Capcom Arcade Cabinet
• Cars 2: The Video Game
• Carcassonne
• Castle Crashers
• Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
• Castlestorm
• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
• Catherine
• The Cave
• Centipede & Millipede
• CLANNAD
• Comic Jumper
• Comix Zone
• Condemned
• Counter-Strike: GO
• Crazy Taxi
• Crystal Defenders
• Crystal Quest

• D
• Dark Void
• Darksiders
• Darksiders 2
• Daytona USA
• Deadliest Warrior: Legends
• Dead Rising 2: Case West
• Dead Rising 2: Case Zero
• Dead Space Ignition
• Deathspank TOV
• de Blob 2
• Defense Grid
• DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION
• DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION Director’s Cut
• DIG DUG
• DiRT 3
• DiRT Showdown
• Discs of Tron
• Domino Master
• Doom
• Doom II
• Doom 3 BFG
• Doritos Crash Course
• Double Dragon Neon
• Dragon Age: Origin
• Dragon’s Lair
• DuckTales: Remastered
• Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project
• Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara
• Dungeon Siege III

• E
• E4
• Earthworm Jim HD
• Eat Lead
• EnclevermentExperiment
• Escape Dead Island

• F
• Fable II
• Fable III
• Faery: Legends of Avalon
• Fallout 3
• Fallout New Vegas
• Far Cry 3
• Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon
• Feeding Frenzy
• Feeding Frenzy 2
• Final Fight: Double Impact
• Flashback
• Flock!
• Forza Horizon
• Foul Play
• Fret Nice
• Frogger
• Frogger 2
• FunTown Mahjong

• G
• Galaga
• Galaga Legions
• Galaga Legions DX
• Garou: Mark of the Wolves
• Gatling Gears
• Gears of War
• Gears of War 2
• Gears of War 3
• Gears of War: Judgment
• Geometry Wars Evolved
• Ghostbusters
• Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime
• Golden Axe
• Go! Go! Break Study
• Grid 2
• Gripshift
• GTA IV
• Guardian Heroes
• Gunstar Heroes
• Guwange
• Gyromancer

• H
• Half-Minute Hero Super Mego New Climax
• Halo: Reach
• Halo: Spartan Assault
• Hardwood Backgammon
• Hardwood Hearts
• Hardwood Spades
• Haunted House
• Heavy Weapon
• Hexic 2
• Hexic HD
• Hitman: Absolution
• Hydro Thunder

• I
• I Am Alive
• Ikaruga
• Injustice: Gods Among Us
• Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition (Disc Only)
• Interpol
• Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
• Iron Brigade

• J
• Jeremy McGrath’s Offroad
• Jetpac Refuelled
• Jet Set Radio
• Joe Danger Special Edition
• Joe Danger 2: The Movie
• Joust
• Joy Ride Turbo
• Juju
• Jurassic Park
• Just Cause 2

• K
• Kameo
• Kane & Lynch 2
• Killer Is Dead

• L
• Lazy Raiders
• Left 4 Dead
• LEGO Batman
• Lego Indiana Jones
• LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game
• LEGO Star Wars: TCS
• Limbo
• Lode Runner
• Lost Odyssey
• LUMINES LIVE!
• Luxor 2

• M
• Mad Balls Babo: Invasion
• Mad Tracks
• Mass Effect
• Mass Effect 2 (Disc Only)
• Mass Effect 3 (Disc Only)
• Magic 2012
• Mars: War Logs
• Meet the Robinsons
• Mega Man 9
• Mega Man 10
• Metal Slug 3
• Metal Slug XX
• Midway Arcade Origins
• Might & Magic Clash of Heroes
• Military Madness
• Mirror’s Edge
• Missile Command
• MOH Airborne
• Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine
• Monday Night Combat
• Monkey Island: SE
• Monkey Island 2: SE
• Monopoly Plus
• Moon Diver
• Motocross Madness
• Ms. Splosion Man
• MS.PAC-MAN
• Mutant Blobs Attack
• Mutant Storm Empire
• MX vs ATV Reflex

• N
• N+
• NBA JAM: On Fire Edition
• NEOGEO Battle Coliseum
• NiGHTS into dream…

• O
• Oblivion
• OF: Dragon Rising
• OFP: Red River (Disc Only, except Japan)
• Of Orcs and Men
• Omega Five
• Outland

• P
• PAC-MAN
• PAC-MAN C.E
• PAC-MAN CE DX+
• PAC-MAN Museum
• Peggle
• Perfect Dark
• Perfect Dark Zero
• Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds
• Phantasy Star 2
• Pinball FX
• Planets Under Attack
• Plants vs. Zombies
• Poker Smash
• Portal 2
• Portal: Still Alive
• Prince of Persia
• Pure (Disc Only)
• Putty Squad
• Puzzle Quest
• Puzzle Quest 2
• Puzzle Quest Galactrix
• Puzzlegeddon
  Q
•  QIX++
  R
• Rage (Only for those that have a disc)
• Raskulls
• Rayman 3 HD
• Rayman Legends
• Red Dead Redemption
• Red Faction Battlegrounds
• Rocket Knight
• Runner2
• R-Type Dimensions

• S
• Sacred 3
• Sacred Citadel
• Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space
• Sam & Max Save the World
• Samurai Shodown 2
• Scrap Metal
• Scarygirl
• Sega Bass Fishing
• Sega Vintage Collection: Alex Kidd & Co.
• Sega Vintage Collection: Monster World
• Sega Vintage Collection: Streets of Rage
• Shadows of the Damned
• Shadow Complex
• Shadow Run
• Shank 2
• Shred Nebula
• Shotest Shogi
• Siberia
• Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution
• Silent Hill Downpour
• Skate 3
• Skullgirls
• Skydive
• Small Arms
• Soltrio Solitaire
• Sonic All-Stars Racing
• Sonic and Knuckles
• Sonic CD
• Sonic The Fighters
• Sonic The Hedgehog
• Sonic The Hedgehog 2
• Sonic The Hedgehog 3
• Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode 1
• Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode 2
• SOULCALIBUR
• Space Ark
• Space Giraffe
• Space Invaders Infinity Gene
• Spelunky
• The Splatters
• Splosion Man
• SSX
• Stacking
• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2
• Strania
• Street Fighter IV
• Stuntman: Ignition
• Super Meat Boy
• Supreme Commander 2

• T
• TC’s RainbowSix Vegas
• Tekken 6
• Texas Hold’em
• Ticket to Ride
• TC’s RainbowSix Vegas2
• The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match
• The Maw
• The Orange Box
• The Stick of Truth
• The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
• Torchlight
• Tower Bloxx Deluxe
• Toy Soldiers
• Toy Soldiers Cold War
• Tour De France 2009
• Tour De France 2011
• Trials HD
• Triggerheart Exelica
• Trine 2
• Tron: Evolution

• U
• Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon

• V
• Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown
• Viva Piñata
• Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise

• W
• Wolfenstein 3D
• Word Puzzle

• X
• XCOM: Enemy Unknown
• XCOM: Enemy Within
• Unbound Saga

• Z
• Zuma
• Zuma’s Revenge!

Microsoft plans to keep adding to this list as time goes on.  You can keep checking here for new titles. Early on, the company would hold a set of games, then announce them all once a month. It decided to throw that idea out roughly a month ago, adding new games to the program whenever they’re ready.

Because Microsoft has to work directly with partners to make new titles available, predicting what titles are next is complicated. Microsoft is encouraging users to show support by voting for their favorite games to make it into the program using the Xbox Feedback website.

Games that are given to Xbox 360 users as part of the Games with Gold program will always come to the Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Program, Microsoft says. In recent months the firm has also partnered up with publishers to include older games with their new titles. Just Cause 3 included a code for a free download of Just Cause 2. Quantum Break will come with a free copy of Alan Wake.

Warframe

> 1 / 8

Many free-to-play games revolve around strategy or civilization building. Warframe is one of the free Xbox games that you can download now that doesn’t. It’s a third-person shooter. The Tenno have just awoken after centuries of sleeping in stasis. Warframe takes its name from the suits that the Tenno use to do battle with the game’s other races. There’s the Greiner, who are clones of humans. The Corpus belong to a technology company with lots of robotic innovation at their disposal. Sentients consist of an alien race that’s back to do battle. Warframe features both player-vs-player combat and a single player experience. Download Warframe from the Xbox Store

> 1 / 8