Xbox expanding backwards compatibility program to original Xbox games

Enlarge / Phil Spencer literally stands next to two Xbox "one" logos. (credit: Microsoft)

LOS ANGELES-Xbox chief Phil Spencer confirmed a surprise expansion to Xbox One's backwards compatibility program: original Xbox games. As in, the Xbox "1" before the 2013 console arrived and created name confusion.

"Our team of engineers are working hard to bring some of your favorite original Xbox games to today's Xbox One library," Spencer told the Los Angeles Galen Center crowd. Spencer took the opportunity to only confirm one game coming from the OG Xbox to Xbox One's backwards compatibility: beloved multiplayer shooter Crimson Skies.

Crimson Skies! (credit: Microsoft)

He also insisted that original Xbox games will "look better and play better" on Xbox One. As X360 backwards compatibility has shown, that system's case-by-case game improvements tend to focus on more rigidly locked frame rates. We'll report on any perceptible performance gains if we play OG Xbox games on the E3 show floor this week.

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