Microsoft has revealed when the Xbox 360 store will close its doors. You’ll no longer be able to buy games, expansions or anything else on the Xbox 360 console or Marketplace after July 29, 2024. Any original Xbox or Xbox 360 games and DLC that are backwards compatible on the Xbox One or Series X/S will still be available to buy on the newer consoles’ storefronts.
The Microsoft Movies & TV app will stop working on the console on the same date, so you won’t be able to use it to watch TV shows and films. Any content you have bought from the Xbox 360 store will stay in your library and you can watch it on Windows 10 and 11 devices, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. You can also watch any titles with Movies Anywhere compatibility on that service’s app and website.
You can still buy Xbox 360 games and other content through the console’s storefront until next July (you should still be able to find second-hand physical copies of games you want to play too). Any games you have in your library will still work on your Xbox 360 after the store shutters, and you’ll be able to access many of them on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S through backwards compatibility too. Microsoft notes that it has enhanced many Xbox 360 titles on the Series X/S, adding features such as FPS Boost, Auto HDR and snappier loading times.
Multiplayer features on Xbox 360 games will still be supported as long as publishers and developers keep their titles’ servers up and running. You’ll be able to save your games and progress to the cloud as well, and pick up where you left off on Xbox One or Xbox Series X/S.
The Xbox 360 is 18 years old this year and (as best I can tell) it’s been five years since the last game was released for it. It perhaps doesn’t make business sense for Microsoft to keep the store open. However, the store’s closure will prevent players from being able to buy many digital-only games, making the move a blow for game preservation.
After fans protested against Sony’s plan to shut down the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita stores in 2021, the company relented and kept them open (though it followed through on closing the PSP store). On the other hand, Sony is making players jump through a few extra hoops to buy PS3 and Vita games as neither digital storefront directly accepts credit cards, debit cards or PayPal payments. In 2022, Sony set up a game preservation team.
Source: www.engadget.com