Some Xbox Games Could Be Lost Forever After Microsoft Reveals Disappointing Update
There are dozens of games that are only available on the Xbox 360 digital marketplace right now, and when that store shuts down they may disappear forever.
Microsoft will soon be shutting down the Xbox 360 online store, and many fans are devastated. The company is now on the fourth generation of its Xbox hardware while the Xbox 360 is the second generation, so this shut-down will not impact the more recent half of the Xbox family. Still, according to a post on Reddit, there are dozens of games that were only released on the digital marketplace, meaning they will effectively be lost after this shut-down.
The Xbox 360 was released in 2005 and allowed fans to purchase games digitally online, along with streaming apps and other programs. After nearly two decades, that digital store will shut down on July 29, 2024 according to a report by Reuters. At that point, fans will still have access to the games they've purchased and downloaded, but will not be able to get new ones. Microsoft reportedly intends to funnel those reclaimed resources into its newer online store as well as its subscription service, Game Pass. Those newer stores do not have all the games that are available exclusively on the Xbox 360 marketplace at the time of this writing.
Games exclusively on the Xbox 360 Marketplace and will vanish after the shutdown
by u/steelraindrop in xbox360
Many of the games on the list circulating on Reddit are obscure and cult-classics at best, but that doesn't mean they are expendable. As many frustrated commenters have argued, video games have become a culturally significant form of media in their own right and should not be subject to the whims of the license holder. Some compared it to the nearly academic pursuit of film preservation – though that discipline has been taking its own hits in recent years.
The Xbox 360 was first released in 2005 but stayed in production until 2016 – years after its successor, the Xbox One launched in 2013. These were followed up by the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X in 2020, though the release of those consoles was complicated by the processor shortage of that year. Meanwhile, Microsoft has been expanding the "Xbox" brand in recent years, applying the name to digital services that can also be accessed on computers running Windows operating systems.
A statement from the company on the closure of the Xbox 360 store emphasized how different the gaming industry looks from two decades ago. It said: "A lot has changed since the Xbox 360 launched in 2005. Technology has evolved, expectations from players have shifted, and we are focused on making Xbox Series X|S the best place to play now and in the future."