Xbox commits to backwards compatibility and biggest leap ever for next gen console

Backwards compatibility is still very important to Xbox (Picture: Microsoft)

Microsoft has established a new team dedicated to game preservation, as Xbox president Sarah Bond continues to make bold claims about the next gen.

If the conversation around Xbox has been pretty negative this year, between Microsoft layoffs and multiplatform concerns, it seems the company is trying to steer attention towards a more optimistic future.

Over this past week, we’ve seen multiple insiders claim a reveal for Gears Of War 6 will take place in the summer. This comes after leaks of a digital-only Xbox Series X and rumours of an Xbox handheld device.

Now, Xbox president Sarah Bond has outlined the company’s commitment to backwards compatibility in its future hardware.

In an internal memo, Bond says the company has established a new team dedicated to game preservation which will ensure the Xbox library will be accessible to future generations.

‘We have formed a new team dedicated to game preservation, important to all of us at Xbox and the industry itself,’ Bond wrote in an email obtained by Windows Central.

‘We are building on our strong history of delivering backwards compatibility to our players, and we remain committed to bringing forward the amazing library of Xbox games for future generations of players to enjoy.’

Compared to Nintendo and Sony, Xbox is already the most dedicated to backwards compatibility – with over 600 Xbox 360 titles playable on the Xbox Series X/S, along with a number of original Xbox titles.

In the same memo, Bond also reiterated her prior comments regarding Xbox’s next gen hardware.

‘It’s been nearly six months since we came together as an organisation,’ she added. ‘Our collective achievements in that timeframe are tremendous. Everyone should feel incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved and excited about the opportunities ahead.

‘We are moving full speed ahead on our next generation hardware, focused on delivering the biggest technological leap ever in a generation.’

Given the increasingly small leaps between each generation, this seemed like a description that would lead to inevitable disappoint, when Bond first made the comment earlier in the year, and it’s still not clear how it could possibly be true.

Subsequent rumours have suggested its leap forward is related to AI, which is currently a focus for Microsoft as a whole, although exactly how it will be used is not clear.

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