A little over eighteen months ago, Microsoft announced that they would be making Xbox 360 games playable on the Xbox One. This technical feat was impressive, taking into account that the two consoles have vastly different processor architectures and that Microsoft made these games available to gamers at no extra charge, if they already owned the game digitally or physically.

What type of Witchcraft is this?

No witchcraft is involved, only very clever engineering. The Xbox 360 has an IBM PowerPC CPU and the Xbox One has an AMD x64 CPU, meaning they have a different number of processors, those different processors work at different speeds and essentially speak completely different languages to understand and issue commands.

The Xbox Team have used their extensive knowledge to build a translator for those commands and the different speeds at which the CPU processors work. This translator is called an Emulator and is a program that asks itself "If this command was given to an Xbox 360, what would it do to handle it?" and provides that command in a way that the Xbox One understands.

There are many different kinds of Video Game emulators available online, most developed by hobbyists to keep their old video game library alive. The developers of these emulators have spent hours breaking down at the machine code, debugging level what exactly happens within the processor of a console at a certain time when something happens and then make an educated guess of what should happen in a modern CPU.

The engineers at Microsoft had a slight advantage in that they knew from the original designs of the Xbox 360 what should be happening. However, to get an emulator running and to get an emulator running well are two very different things.

What types of Games are available?

While some gamers may have dabbled with emulators on the internet before, often they are ok but don't run all games well or have unexpected behaviour in some places because the developers of the emulator had not predicted for certain behaviour.

Where Xbox has excelled is to effectively load a full Xbox 360, including the OS from the Xbox 360, each time you run a Backwards Compatible game. Your Xbox 360 game does not know anything about the Xbox One and thinks that it is running on Xbox 360 hardware.

This has made it possible to have full games, rather than only the smaller 'Arcade' games work reliably to work on the newer console.

Good news came from Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, this week that he plans for Backwards Compatibility to be a key feature of Xbox for years to come. Microsoft's as yet unnamed console, Project Scorpio will be able to play all Xbox One games and hundreds of Xbox 360 titles when it launches around Christmas / Thanksgiving this year.

As of 1. February 2017, here is the list of Xbox 360 games that you can play on your xbox.

Full Games / Games on Demand

1. Alan Wake

2. Alice: Madness Returns

3. Assassin’s Creed

4. Assassin’s Creed II

5. Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts

6. Battlefield 3 (Disc Only)

7. Battlefield: Bad Co. 2

8. Battlestations: Midway

9. Bayonetta

10. BioShock

11. BioShock 2

12. BioShock Infinite

13. Blue Dragon

14. Borderlands

15. Bound by Flame

16. Bully Scholarship Ed.

17. Burnout Paradise

18. Call of Duty 2

19. Call of Duty 3

20. Call of Duty: Black Ops

21. Call of Duty: World at War

22. CastleStorm

23. Catherine

24. CLANNAD (Only available in Japan)

25. Condemned: Criminal Origins

26. Dark Souls

27. Dark Void

28. de Blob 2

29. Dead Space

30. DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION

31. DiRT 3

32. DiRT Showdown

33. DOOM 3 BFG Edition (only available on disc)

34. Dragon Age: Origins

35. Dungeon Siege III

36. E4

37. Eat Lead

38. EnclevermentExperiment

39. Escape Dead Island

40. Fable II

41. Fable III

42. Fallout 3

43. Fallout: New Vegas

44. Forza Horizon

45. FunTown Mahjong

46. Gears of War

47. Gears of War 2

48. Gears of War 3

49. Gears of War: Judgment

50. Ghostbusters

51. GRID 2

52. Halo Wars

53. Halo: Reach

54. Injustice: Gods Among Us (+ disc only Ultimate Edition)

55. Jurassic Park: The Game

56. Just Cause 2

57. Kameo: Elements of Power

58. Kane & Lynch 2

59. Killer Is Dead

60. Left 4 Dead

61. Left 4 Dead 2

62. LEGO Batman

63. LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game

64. LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga

65. Lost Odyssey

66. Mass Effect

67. Mass Effect 2 (disc only)

68. Mass Effect 3 (disc only)

69. Midway Arcade Origins

70. Mirror’s Edge

71. MOH Airborne

72. MONOPOLY PLUS

73. MX vs. ATV Reflex

74. Oblivion

75. Of Orcs and Men (not available in all regions)

76. OFP: Red River (disc only, except Japan)

77. Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

78. Perfect Dark Zero

79. Portal 2

80. Pure (disc only)

81. RAGE (disc only)

82. Rayman Legends

83. Rayman Origins

84. Red Dead Redemption

85. Sacred 3

86. Saints Row IV

87. Shadowrun

88. Shadows of the Damned

89. Silent Hill: Downpour

90. Skate 3

91. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

92. South Park: The Stick of Truth

93. SSX

94. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

95. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II

96. Supreme Commander 2

97. TEKKEN 6

98. Tekken Tag Tournament 2

99. The Orange Box

100. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

101. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas

102. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2

103. Tour de France 2011 (not available in all regions)

104. Toy Story 3

105. Tron: Evolution

106. Viva Piñata

107. Viva Piñata: Trouble In Paradise

108. XCOM: Enemy Unknown

109. XCOM: Enemy Within

Xbox Live Arcade titles

1. A Kingdom for Keflings

2. A World of Keflings

3. Aegis Wing

4. Age of Booty

5. Alan Wake’s American Nightmare

6. Alien Hominid HD

7. Altered Beast

8. Anomaly Warzone Earth

9. Aqua

10. ARKANOID Live!

11. Asteroids & Deluxe

12. Astropop

13. Babel Rising (not avail in Xbox 360 store)

14. Banjo-Kazooie

15. Banjo-Tooie

16. BattleBlock Theater

17. Beat’n Groovy

18. Bejeweled 2

19. Bejeweled 3

20. Bellator: MMA Onslaught

21. Beyond Good & Evil HD

22. Bionic Commando Rearmed 2

23. Blood Knights

24. Blood of the Werewolf

25. Bloodforge

26. BloodRayne: Betrayal

27. Bomberman Battlefest

28. Boom Boom Rocket

29. Braid

30. Brain Challenge

31. Call of Juarez Gunslinger

32. CAPCOM ARCADE CABINET

33. Carcassonne

34. Castle Crashers

35. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse

36. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

37. Centipede & Millipede

38. Comic Jumper

39. Comix Zone

40. Counter-Strike: GO

41. Crazy Taxi

42. CRYSTAL DEFENDERS

43. Crystal Quest

44. Dead Space Ignition

45. Deadliest Warrior: Legends

46. Deathspank T.O.V.

47. Defense Grid: The Awakening

48. Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Director’s Cut

49. DIG DUG

50. Discs of Tron

51. Domino Master

52. Doom

53. Doom II

54. Doritos Crash Course

55. Double Dragon Neon

56. Dragon’s Lair

57. DuckTales: Remastered

58. Duke Nukem Manhattan Project

59. Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara

60. Earthworm Jim HD

61. Faery: Legends of Avalon

62. Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon

63. Feeding Frenzy

64. Feeding Frenzy 2: Shipwreck Showdown

65. Final Fight: Double Impact

66. Flashback

67. FLOCK!

68. Foul Play

69. Fret Nice

70. Frogger

71. Frogger 2

72. Galaga

73. Galaga Legions

74. Galaga Legions DX

75. Garou: Mark of the Wolves

76. Gatling Gears

77. Geometry Wars Evolved

78. Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime

79. Go! Go! Break Steady

80. Golden Axe

81. Gripshift

82. Guardian Heroes

83. Gunstar Heroes

84. Guwange

85. HALF-MINUTE HERO -Super Mega Neo Climax-

86. Halo: Spartan Assault

87. Hardwood Backgammon

88. Hardwood Hearts

89. Hardwood Spades

90. Haunted House

91. Heavy Weapon

92. Hexic 2

93. Hexic HD

94. Hydro Thunder

95. I Am Alive

96. Ikaruga

97. Interpol

98. Iron Brigade

99. Jeremy McGrath’s Offroad

100. Jet Set Radio

101. Jetpac Refuelled

102. Joe Danger 2: The Movie

103. Joe Danger Special Edition

104. Joust

105. Joy Ride Turbo

106. Lazy Raiders

107. LIMBO

108. Lode Runner

109. LUMINES LIVE!

110. Magic 2012

111. Mars: War Logs

112. MEGA MAN 10

113. MEGA MAN 9

114. Metal Slug 3

115. Metal Slug XX

116. Might & Magic Clash of Heroes

117. Military Madness

118. Missile Command

119. Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine

120. Monday Night Combat

121. Monkey Island 2: Special Edition

122. Monkey Island: Special Edition

123. Motocross Madness

124. Mr. DRILLER Online

125. MS. PAC-MAN

126. Ms. Splosion Man

127. Mutant Blobs Attack!!!

128. Mutant Storm Empire

129. N+

130. NBA JAM: On Fire Edition

131. NEOGEO BATTLE COLISEUM

132. NEW RALLY-X

133. NiGHTS into dreams…

134. NIN2-JUMP

135. Omega Five

136. Outland

137. PAC-MAN

138. PAC-MAN MUSEUM

139. Pac-Man: Championship Edition

140. Pac-Man: Championship Edition DX+

141. Peggle

142. Perfect Dark

143. Phantasy Star II

144. Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds

145. Pinball FX

146. Planets Under Attack

147. Plants vs. Zombies

148. Portal: Still Alive

149. Prince of Persia

150. Putty Squad

151. Puzzle Quest

152. Puzzle Quest 2

153. Puzzle Quest Galactrix

154. Puzzlegeddon

155. QIX++

156. Raskulls

157. Rayman 3 HD

158. Red Faction: Battlegrounds

159. Rocket Knight

160. R-Type Dimensions

161. Runner2

162. Sacred Citadel

163. Sam & Max Save the World

164. Sam & Max Beyond Time & Space

165. Samurai Shodown II

166. Scarygirl

167. Scrap Metal

168. SEGA Bass Fishing

169. Sega Vintage Collection: Alex Kidd & Co.

170. Sega Vintage Collection: Golden Axe

171. Sega Vintage Collection: Monster World

172. Sega Vintage Collection: Streets of Rage

173. Shadow Complex

174. Shank 2

175. Shotest Shogi

176. Shred Nebula

177. Skullgirls

178. Skydive

179. Small Arms

180. Sonic & Knuckles

181. SONIC 4 Episode II

182. Sonic CD

183. Sonic the Fighters

184. Sonic The Hedgehog

185. Sonic The Hedgehog 2

186. Sonic The Hedgehog 3

187. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 4 Episode I

188. Soul Calibur II HD

189. Soulcalibur

190. Space Ark

191. Space Giraffe

192. Spelunky

193. Splosion Man

194. Strania

195. Super Meat Boy

196. Syberia

197. Texas Hold ‘Em

198. The Cave

199. The King of Fighters ’98 Ultimate Match

200. The Maw

201. The Splatters

202. Ticket to Ride

203. Torchlight

204. Tour de France 2009

205. Toy Soldiers

206. Toy Soldiers: Cold War

207. Trials HD

208. Triggerheart Exelica

209. Trine 2

210. Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon

211. Unbound Saga

212. Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown

213. Wolfenstein 3D

214. Word Puzzle

215. Zuma

216. Zuma’s Revenge!

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