You wouldn’t think something like this would still be as confusing an issue as it is, but the seemingly simple idea of playing an Xbox 360 game on the Xbox One can be incredibly complex to some people. Indeed, in my work video game sales, I often get asked details on this, and when I explain it I’m met with only more confusion as people just can’t grasp what’s going on.
This carries over to many YouTube videos on the subject which seem to go overboard on how they explain when a new (well old) game becomes playable, they talk about how you can “even play the multiplayer” as if it somehow isn’t part of the game, among other oddities in phrasing.
In this article, I’ll try to explain in the most simple terms what all is going on.
So, let’s establish a few things here: You have an Xbox 360 game that is playable on the Xbox One. We will call it the “Game” for this purpose. The Xbox One will be referred to as the “console.”
Let’s Begin:
- You take the game, and insert it into the console. The console will download an update that will allow you to play the game on the console.
- You play the game. It will play the same way it did on the Xbox 360.
- If you play Online Multiplayer, it will be identical to what it was on the Xbox 360. This means you are still playing with other people playing that same Xbox 360 game, regardless of if they are playing on the Xbox One or the Xbox 360 console – the play method doesn’t matter only the game being played does.
I repeat: it doesn’t matter what console it is being played on, if you are playing an Xbox 360 game, then that’s it. Nothing special. For some reason this is the biggest point of confusion in this process, people think they are playing with Xbox One players only or whatever. The system doesn’t matter, just what version of the game is being player. That’s all. Players on the Xbox One and the Xbox 360 are still playing the “same game” and as such will play together.
- Certain Xbox One features, like clip recording and the like, still work. Other features are managed in the Xbox 360 game itself, or in the Xbox 360 dashboard running with the game.
- In the rare event it is a game that has dedicated versions on both the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One, the same rule applies – you are still playing either the Xbox One of the Xbox 360 version of the game, and thus are still only playing with others playing that same version: even if playing the 360 version on the Xbox One.
Okay, I don’t think I actually explained it much better than I have before. It’s simple once you actually pay attention to what’s going on, and it helps if you know Xbox 360 and Xbox One gaming – when a parent asks, it’s usually impossible to fully explain just what is going on unless they too happen to be a gamer, which usually means they won’t need to ask.
Still, it’s worth it, if you know someone who can’t quite understand the process, maybe this will explain it a bit better to them, since nearly 2 years later I still find people have incredible confusion about it all.