It seems like every week, more and more Xbox 360 titles become playable on Xbox One, and this week sees the addition of two major first-person titles from Valve joining the backwards compatible ranks.
Fans have long asked for the zombie co-op title Left 4 Dead to go backwards compatible, and Microsoft has finally delivered the goods. Players who own the disc version of the game can now play it on their Xbox One. Those who bought Left 4 Dead digitally should find the title in their "Ready to Install" game library. The title joins its sequel Left 4 Dead 2, which has been available via backwards compatibility for a few months now.
Also joining the backwards compatibility list is Valve's first-person co-op puzzler Portal 2. Players must work together as two portal gun-equipped robots to overcome various challenges and survive the hellish (and hilarious) experience that is Aperture Science Laboratories. The original Portal is also backwards compatible, and has been for some time now.
While two of Valve's most popular games headline this week's additions, a number of smaller downloadable titles are also now backwards compatible. Flashback, Babel Rising and Brain Challenge are also all being added to the list.
The additions come hot on the heels of E3 2016, where Microsoft revealed two new versions of the Xbox One and continued to double down on its promises of backwards compatibility from last year. Xbox 360 games like Limbo and Tekken Tag Tournament 2 are currently free on Xbox One in order to celebrate upcoming release/reveal of games like Inside and Tekken 7 for the Xbox One.
Expect even more backwards compatible titles to be on the way. Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently revealed that the Xbox 360-exclusive JRPGs Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey are currently in the works for backwards compatibility. This is possible thanks to the recent update that allows for multi-disc Xbox 360 games to be playable via backwards compatibility.
Unfortunately, fans shouldn't expect one of the most heavily-requested Xbox 360 games, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, to ever become backwards compatible. Bethesda recently revealed a remastered version of the game will be coming to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 with mod support. Allowing Skyrim to become backwards compatible would no doubt undercut sales of the new remastered versions, so fans who want to explore Bethesda's beloved open-world RPG on current generation consoles will have to purchase the game once more.
