UPDATED 09:50 EDT / OCTOBER 27 2015

NEWS

Xbox One’s backwards compatibility and Windows 10 updates will be arriving on November 12

Microsoft surprised Xbox fans at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), where it announced that the Xbox One game console would be getting backwards compatibility support by the end of the year, allowing users to play their old Xbox 360 games on the new system without having to buy them all over again. Now the console maker has finally announced that the long awaited update will be arriving on November 12, just over two weeks away.

Unfortunately, the backwards compatibility feature will not allow users to play every Xbox 360 game they want, at least not at first. When the feature launches, the system will have a library of just over 100 games that will be supported, but the console maker promises that there will be “hundreds more in the months to come.”

Although the current compatibility list is relatively short, it does include some of the last console generation’s most popular games, including BorderlandsGears of War, and Mass Effect. Users who own these games digitally on their Xbox 360 console will see the games automatically added to their library on Xbox One in the “Ready to Install” section. Users who own physical copies of the supported games simply need to insert a game disc into their Xbox One console to install it.

The backwards compatibility update will also add cross-platform multiplayer support for old games, meaning that users can play with their friends regardless of whether they are using an Xbox One or an Xbox 360. Supported games will also be able to take advantage of some of the native features of the Xbox One, including game DVR, screenshots, and Windows 10 streaming.

While backwards compatibility is one of the most talked about features in the upcoming update, the system will also be getting a big Windows 10 makeover. Dubbed the “New Xbox One Experience,” the update will add completely redesigned menus, faster system speeds (thanks to Windows 10), and improved social features.

The update comes at the perfect time for the holiday shopping season, and Microsoft likely hopes that the Xbox One’s new backwards compatibility will give the system an edge when it comes to wavering consumers who are not quite sure which current-gen console to buy.

Photo by wuestenigel 

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