GAMERS will be able to play “thousands” of titles on the Xbox Series X from launch day.
Microsoft says it has already completed significant testing – and that these games are already playable on the next-gen console.
The new Xbox Series X is expected to launch later this year, likely in October or November.
Much of its success versus the PlayStation 5 will be how impressive the console’s launch roster of games is.
Microsoft is already working on lining up brand new games that will be ready to play for launch.
But the tech giant also says that thousands of classic games from previous consoles will also be supported from day one.
Better still, many of these games will run even better than they originally did – due to the advanced hardware inside the Xbox Series X.
“With more than 100,000 hours of play testing already completed, thousands of games are already playable on Xbox Series X today.
“Many of us in Team Xbox play on the Xbox Series X daily as our primary console and switching between generations is seamless.
“By the time we launch this holiday, the team will have spent well over 200,000 hours ensuring your game library is ready for you to jump in immediately.”
Microsoft says that all of the games run at “the peak performance they were originally designed for”, with higher and more steady frame rates.
And they’ll render at their maximum resolution and visually quality.
The Xbox maker also says that players will see “significant reductions” to in-game load times.
Microsoft’s Xbox Series X will also be able to retroactively add HDR support to older games – even original Xbox titles developed almost 20 years ago, “before the existence of HDR”.
It’s possible that both the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 will offer similar backwards compatibility.
Back in February, Ubisoft chief Yves Guillemot said the majority of current console games would work on both consoles.
“Those consoles will be running almost all the back catalogue of the previous consoles,” the Ubisoft boss explained.
He continued: “It will be something new in the industry.
“It will help the old generations to continue to be big consoles on the market for years to come.”
