Xbox is now, officially, 20 years old.
And during the Xbox Anniversary Celebration event, a lot of what has gone into the green box was honoured.
From its beginnings as an outsider from a company nobody thought should be in the industry to one of the “big three”, Xbox has certainly made an impact.
As such, let’s take a look at exactly what Xbox had in store for fans on the 20th anniversary.
Halo Infinite Multiplayer Beta
A shock-drop announcement for some, the official Halo Infinite multiplayer beta is now readily available to play.
Some three weeks early.
343 Industries launched the free-to-play beta and its first season during the event.
Halo Infinite‘s multiplayer beta is available for all players on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Windows PC, and Xbox Cloud Gaming – via Game Pass Ultimate.
Season One includes all maps, core modes, Academy features, and Battle Pass.
Furthermore, all game progress will carry over to the full launch of Halo Infinite on 8th December.
Power On: The Story of Xbox
Xbox also announced that this December, fans will be able to watch a never-before-seen insight into the beginnings of Xbox as we know it.
Detailing the inception and journey of the company; from a passion project between four gamers within Microsoft.
It’s not just the start of the company that is examined – the past four generations of Xbox will be showcased.
It will look at the challenges and triumphs of the console and the company, from the Red Ring of Death to the Bethesda acquisition and much more besides.
The six-episode series will be available to watch from 13th December on a variety of platforms, including Roku, IMDb TV, YouTube, Redbox, and more.
For more information, visit the Power On Xbox page.
Over 70 New Backwards Compatible Games Added to Library
One of the longest-running fan-favourite features of Xbox has been the company’s dedication to Backwards Compatibility.
As of the Anniversary event, some 70 new games have been added to the list.
These games are available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S consoles.
The following 76 games are available now, via Backwards Compatibility;
- 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
- Aces of the Galaxy
- Advent Rising
- Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom
- Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Make the Grade
- Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Burning Earth
- Bankshot Billiards 2
- Beautiful Katamari
- Binary Domain
- Black College Football Xperience: Doug Williams Ed
- Cloning Clyde
- Conan
- Darwinia+
- Dead or Alive Ultimate
- Dead or Alive 3
- Dead or Alive 4
- Death by Cube
- Disney Universe
- Disney’s Chicken Little
- Elements of Destruction
- F.E.A.R.
- F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
- F.E.A.R. 3
- F.E.A.R. Files
- The First Templar
- Gladius
- Gunvalkyrie
- Islands of Wakfu
- Lego The Lord of the Rings
- Manhunt
- Max Payne
- Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
- Max Payne 3
- Mini Ninjas
- Mortal Kombat
- Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
- MX vs. ATV Alive
- MX vs. ATV Untamed
- NIER
- Novadrome
- Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee
- Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad
- Otogi: Myth of Demons
- Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors
- The Outfit
- Outpost Kaloki X
- Quake Arena Arcade
- R.A.W. – Realms of Ancient War
- Red Dead Revolver
- Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
- Ridge Racer 6
- Rio
- Risen
- Risen 2: Dark Waters
- Rock of Ages
- Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
- Scramble
- Screwjumper!
- Secret Weapons Over Normandy
- Skate 2
- SpongeBob SquarePants Underpants Slam!
- SpongeBob’s Truth or Square
- Star Wars Starfighter: Special Edition
- Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars
- Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
- Switchball
- Thrillville
- Thrillville: Off the Rails
- Time Pilot
- TimeSplitters 2
- TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
- Toy Story Mania!
- Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment
- Viva Piñata: Party Animals
- Warlords
Furthermore, every title in the above list will have Auto HDR on support.
Of the original Xbox titles listed, each will experience a resolution increase on Xbox One/Series consoles;
- Four times resolution increase on Xbox Series X and Xbox One X
- Three times resolution increase on Xbox Series S
- Two times resolution increase on Xbox One S and Xbox One
Additionally, 11 titles will benefit from Xbox’s FPS Boost system, bumping their framerates up to 60FPS. These titles include; F.E.A.R., F.E.A.R. 3, Binary Domain, and NIER.
Whilst we’re on the subject of FPS Boost, 26 more titles from the existing Backwards Compatible list now have the feature added, including; the entire Gears of War franchise, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Dragon Age: Origins, Dead Space 2, Dead Space 3, Alan Wake, and Sonic Generations.
ABG’s Senior Editor (News), YouTube content creator/streamer.