Xbox team thought backwards compatibility was impossible, but they hadn't tried

Xbox

The new Xbox One update is dropping today, and it's a biggy. While we'll be getting an improved dashboard and faster navigation, backwards compatibility is easily the biggest new feature, making it possible to play 104 Xbox 360 games on the One console - and with more to be added each month.

Backwards compatibility is one of Xbox One's big wins over the PS4, which remains staunchly forward-looking and only lets users play old games via its paid subscription service PlayStation Now.

So how come the Xbox One has the feature and the PS4 doesn't? In some ways, even Microsoft is surprised. "I'll be honest with you, at the beginning we said it was impossible - but we hadn't tried," Xbox UK Marketing Director Harvey Eagle told techradar.

Solve the impossible

"And when it became the number one feature that fans were requesting, Phil instructed the engineering teams to try to solve the impossible, and they came back with this solution."

An Xbox spokesperson also told us that a member of the team had gone to Phil Spencer and told him that he had found a way of making backwards compatibility happen. "[Spencer] told him to go away and make it happen and that's how it happened," the spokesperson said.

Eagle also added that he believes the Xbox One has done a lot to win back the hearts of gamers who were put off by the bungled launch back in 2013.

"I think we've made great strides in the last couple of years," he said. "I feel like we're in a good place. I feel like we have good momentum at the moment."

TOPICS
Hugh Langley

Hugh Langley is the ex-News Editor of TechRadar. He had written for many magazines and websites including Business Insider, The Telegraph, IGN, Gizmodo, Entrepreneur Magazine, WIRED (UK), TrustedReviews, Business Insider Australia, Business Insider India, Business Insider Singapore, Wareable, The Ambient and more.

Hugh is now a correspondent at Business Insider covering Google and Alphabet, and has the unfortunate distinction of accidentally linking the TechRadar homepage to a rival publication.

Latest in Xbox
Indiana Jones picks up an ancient relic in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: exhilarating old-school action
An Xbox 360 Rumble Roses XX screenshot.
My Xbox Year in Review 2024 features bangers like Microsoft Flight Simulator and Rumble Roses XX, here's how to see yours
Xbox Series X Digital Edition deal
Stop what you're doing and check out this Xbox Series X Black Friday deal – it probably won't be beaten
The three new Xbox Series console variants on a stand at Gamescom 2024
Where to buy the new Xbox Series X and S consoles - including the gorgeous Galaxy Black 2TB machine
Xbox One and controller
Xbox will 'respect the investments that people have made' and encourage backward compatibility in the future
Microsoft Corp. Xbox Design Lab controllers are displayed during E3
Xbox is already focused on ‘delivering the largest technical leap you will have ever seen in a hardware generation’
Latest in News
Google Pixel 9
The Google Pixel 10 just showed up in Android code – and may come with a useful speed boost
L-mount alliance
Sirui joins L-Mount Alliance to deliver its superb budget lenses for Leica, DJI, Sigma and Panasonic cameras
Security padlock and circuit board to protect data
Trust in digital services around the world sees a massive drop as security worries continue
A Lego Pikachu tail next to a Pebble OS watch and a screenshot of Assassin's Creed Shadow
ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories from LG's excellent new OLED TV to our Assassin's Creed Shadow review
Samuel and Romy standing very close together in A24's Babygirl movie
Everything new on Max in April 2025, including A24's Babygirl and The Last of Us season 2
An AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT made by Sapphire on a table with its retail packaging
AMD’s secret weapon against Nvidia seems to be stock – way more RX 9070 GPUs are rumored to be hitting shelves than RTX 5000 models