So far, it seems as if Microsoft's Xbox One backwards compatibility program has been a success. While it's still far too early to know if the feature has affected sales in any meaningful way, backwards compatibility itself works extremely well on Microsoft's latest machine - given how many triple-A titles have launched in a less-than-stellar state, there were more than a few people who were worried that playing Xbox 360 games on an Xbox One simply wouldn't work.
If there's any real issue with the program, it's that only a fraction of the Xbox 360′s full library is available to play: while 100+ games is a good start, it's far from a comprehensive list. Thankfully, Microsoft is already working on bolstering it: the publisher recently confirmed that the Xbox One's library of backwards compatible games would be updated on a monthly basis.
Now, just a few weeks later, Microsoft has made good on its promise: a fresh batch of Xbox 360 games have just made their way onto the backwards compatibility list!
The full list of newly-added Xbox 360 titles is as follows:
• Braid
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution
• Doritos Crash Course
• Fable III
• Halo: Reach
• Hydro Thunder
• Iron Brigade
• Kane & Lynch 2
• Motocross Madness
• MS.PAC-MAN
• Peggle
• Portal: Still Alive
• Spelunky
• Splosion Man
• Ticket to Ride
• Zuma's Revenge!
In all honestly, it's a bit of an eclectic mix...but that isn't really a bad thing. True, there are a few odd picks (was anyone really itching to play Zuma's Revenge again?), but the vast majority of the new backwards compatible games are hits. Halo: Reach, Fable III, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Splosion Man, Hydro Thunder - these aren't just good games, they're some of the system's best.
While there are still some huge gaps in the Xbox One's backwards compatible library (Mass Effect 2, Call of Duty, Just Cause), it's already clear that Microsoft is dedicated to the service - let's just hope that all of the monthly updates are as high-quality as this one.
For more on December's backwards compatibility update, head over to the official Microsoft blog.
