Backwards-Compatible Games For Xbox One

The Complete Updated List Of Backwards-Compatible Games For Xbox One

by TeachThought Staff

What is a ‘backward-compatible’ game?

In short, a backward-compatible game is a game from a previous version of a video game console that is also playable on later versions. Since video game consoles change significantly between versions (between the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, for example), hardware changes usually mean that a game designed for an old system won’t work on newer systems.

Unlike computer games, video game consoles have to be designed with the unique nature of each platform in mind (which is why ‘porting’–making a game designed for the Xbox One also ‘work’ on the Sony PlayStation–isn’t an exact science). This means the software and hardware are more ‘married’ on consoles than they are on PC.

It also makes it a big deal when a new system is released because unless you want to keep multiple generations of consoles hooked up in your entertainment center, when you buy that shiny new system, your old games become unplayable. Imagine having eBooks you suddenly can’t read because a new Kindle came out –Books that can only be read on ‘old’ Kindles?

Unless they’re backward-compatible, that’s exactly what happens with video games.

A Brief History Of Backward-Compatibility On Video Game Consoles

Backward-compatibility is something that Microsoft chose to bring to the Xbox One that Sony did not with the PlayStation 4.

Early versions of the PlayStation 3 were backward-compatible (meaning it played PlayStation 2 games in addition to PS3), but making that happen was complex, and Sony ditched the project altogether with later versions of the console.

The Sony PlayStation 4 isn’t technically backward-compatible at all (though some older games are playable through other services–it gets confusing; another post for another day), but Microsoft has added backward-compatibility to select games, a list that continues to grow since the program was introduced in 2017.

The Complete Updated List Of Backwards-Compatible Games For Xbox One

The Xbox One is the latest video game console by Microsoft (technically the absolute latest version of the Xbox One is the Xbox One X, a more powerful version of the ‘standard’ Xbox One that plays all the same games, with some of those games taking advantage of it being more powerful by offering enhanced graphics or improved framerates, for example).

Confusing the matter, there are currently three versions of the Xbox One: The ‘standard’ Xbox One, the Xbox One S (a smaller, quieter version of the ‘standard’ model), and the Xbox One X. All three play the same games; they are simply more or less updated/efficient/powerful version of the same system with different size hard-drives and bundled with different games.

Sheesh, this is confusing.

With that context, below, you can find a list of every game Xbox 360 game currently playable on the Xbox One (and of course, Xbox One S and Xbox One X). We will soon be adding some utility to the list with ratings and recommendations for content areas. For now, we’ve simply bolded some of the titles more conducive to game-based learning than others.

Ed note: Any links in this post could be affiliate links, which means we would receive an infinitesimally small % of anything you bought from Amazon; to make sure this doesn’t happen, you can go directly to Amazon or any other retailer and search for the products directly. You can read more about our affiliate policy here.

Last updated: 11/1/2019

  • A Kingdom for Keflings
  • A World of Keflings
  • ACE COMBAT™ 6: Fires of Liberation™
  • Aegis Wing
  • Age of Booty
  • AirMech Arena
  • Alan Wake
  • Alan Wake’s American Nightmare
  • Alice: Madness Returns
  • Alien Hominid HD
  • Aliens vs Predator
  • Altered Beast
  • Anomaly Warzone Earth
  • Aqua
  • ARKANOID Live!
  • Armed and Dangerous
  • Army of Two
  • Assassin’s Creed II
  • Assassin’s Creed Revelations
  • Assassin’s Creed
  • Assassin’s Creed III
  • Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
  • Assassin’s Creed® IV
  • Assassin’s Creed® Liberation HD
  • Assassin’s Creed® Rogue
  • Assault Heroes 2
  • Asteroids & Deluxe
  • Astropop
  • ASURA’S WRATH
  • Axel & Pixel

B

  • Babel Rising
  • Band of Bugs
  • Banjo Kazooie
  • Banjo Kazooie: N n B
  • Banjo Tooie
  • Batman: Arkham Origins
  • BattleBlock Theater
  • Battlefield 1943™
  • Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
  • Battlefield 3™
  • Battlefield Bad Co.
  • Battlefield: Bad Co. 2
  • Battlestations Pacific
  • Battlestations: Midway
  • BAYONETTA
  • Beat’n Groovy
  • Bejeweled 2
  • Bejeweled 3
  • Bellator: MMA Onslaught
  • Beyond Good & Evil HD
  • Bionic Commando Rearmed 2
  • Bioshock
  • Bioshock 2
  • Bioshock Infinite
  • BLACK™
  • Blazing Angels
  • Blinx: The Time Sweeper
  • Blood Knights
  • Blood of the Werewolf
  • Bloodforge
  • BloodRayne 2
  • BloodRayne: Betrayal
  • Blue Dragon
  • Bomberman Battlefest
  • Boom Boom Rocket
  • Borderlands
  • Borderlands 2
  • Bound by Flame
  • Braid
  • Brain Challenge™
  • Brave: The Video Game
  • Breakdown
  • Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway
  • Brütal Legend
  • Bullet Soul
  • Bullet Soul -Infinite Burst-
  • Bully: Scholarship Ed
  • Burnout Paradise
  • Burnout Revenge

C

  • Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2013
  • Cabela’s Alaskan Adventures
  • Cabela’s Hunting Expeditions
  • Cabela’s Survival: SoK
  • Call of Duty® 2
  • Call of Duty® 3
  • Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare®
  • Call of Duty®: Black Ops
  • Call of Duty®: Black Ops II
  • Call of Duty®: Ghosts
  • Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 2
  • Call of Duty®: World at War
  • Call of Juarez 2
  • Call Of Juarez : The Cartel
  • Call of Juarez® Gunslinger
  • CAPCOM ARCADE CABINET
  • Carcassonne
  • Cars 2: The Video Game
  • Cars: Mater-National
  • Castle Crashers
  • Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
  • Castlestorm
  • Castlevania LoS
  • Castlevania: Harmony of Despair
  • Castlevania: LoS – Mirror of Fate HD
  • Castlevania: LoS 2
  • Castlevania: SOTN
  • Catherine
  • Centipede & Millipede
  • Child of Eden
  • Civilization Revolution
  • Civilization Revolution
  • COD: Advanced Warfare
  • Comic Jumper
  • Comix Zone
  • Commaders: Attack
  • Command and Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath
  • Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
  • Command and Conquer Red Alert 3
  • Command and Conquer Red Alert 3: Commander’s Challenge
  • Condemned
  • Conker: Live & Reloaded
  • Contra
  • Costume Quest
  • Costume Quest 2
  • Counter-Strike: GO
  • Crackdown
  • Crazy Taxi
  • Crimson Skies®: High Road to Revenge™
  • Crysis
  • Crysis 2
  • Crysis 3
  • CRYSTAL DEFENDERS™
  • Crystal Quest

D

  • D&D: Chronicles of Mystara
  • Dante’s Inferno™
  • Dark Souls
  • Dark Void
  • Darksiders
  • Darksiders II
  • DAYTONA USA
  • de Blob 2
  • Dead Rising 2: Case West
  • Dead Rising 2: Case Zero
  • Dead Space™
  • Dead Space™ 2
  • Dead Space™ 3
  • Dead Space™ Ignition
  • Dead to Rights
  • Deadfall Adventures
  • Deadliest Warrior
  • Deadliest Warrior: Legends
  • Deadly Premonition
  • Deathspank T.O.V.
  • Defense Grid
  • Destroy All Humans!
  • DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION
  • DIG DUG
  • DiRT 3
  • DiRT Showdown
  • Discs of Tron
  • Disney Bolt
  • Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
  • Divinity II – DKS
  • Domino Master
  • Doom
  • DOOM 3 BFG Edition
  • Doom II
  • Doritos Crash Course
  • Double Dragon Neon
  • Dragon Age: Origins
  • Dragon Age™ 2
  • Dragon’s Lair
  • Driver San Francisco
  • Duck Tales: Remastered
  • Duke Nukem Forever
  • Duke Nukem Manhattan Project
  • Dungeon Siege III

E

  • E4
  • Earth Defense Force 2017
  • Earth Defense Force 2025
  • Earth Defense Force: IA
  • Earthworm Jim HD
  • Eat Lead
  • Enchanted Arms
  • Encleverment Experiment
  • ENSLAVED™: Odyssey to the West
  • Escape Dead Island

F

  • F1™ 2014
  • Fable Anniversary
  • Fable Heroes
  • Fable II
  • Fable III
  • Fable Trilogy
  • Fable® II Pub Games
  • Faery: Legends of Avalon
  • Fallout 3
  • Fallout: New Vegas
  • Far Cry 2
  • Far Cry 3
  • Far Cry 3® Blood Dragon
  • Far Cry Classic
  • Far Cry Instincts: Predator
  • Feeding Frenzy
  • Feeding Frenzy 2
  • FIGHT NIGHT CHAMPION
  • Fighting Vipers
  • FINAL FANTASY XIII
  • FINAL FANTASY XIII-2
  • Final Fight: Double Impact
  • Flashback
  • FLOCK!
  • Forza Horizon
  • Foul Play
  • Fret Nice
  • Frogger
  • Frogger 2
  • From Dust
  • Frontlines: Fuel of War
  • FUEL™
  • Full Spectrum Warrior
  • FunTown Mahjong
  • Fuzion Frenzy®

G

  • Galaga
  • Galaga Legions
  • Galaga Legions DX
  • GAROU -MARK OF THE WOLV
  • Gatling Gears
  • Gears of War
  • Gears of War 2
  • Gears of War 3
  • Gears of War: Judgment
  • Geometry Wars Evolved
  • Geometry Wars Evolved²
  • Geometry Wars™ 3: Dimensions Evolved
  • Ghost Recon: Future Soldier™
  • Ghostbusters
  • Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime
  • GHP2
  • Gin Rummy
  • Girl Fight
  • Go! Go! Break Steady
  • Goat Simulator
  • Golden Axe
  • Golf: Tee It Up!
  • Grabbed by the Ghoulies™
  • Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
  • Grid 2
  • GRID Autosport
  • Gripshift
  • GTA IV
  • Guardian Heroes (TM)
  • Gunstar Heroes
  • Guwange
  • Gyromancer
  • Gyruss

H

  • HALF-MINUTE HERO -Super Mega Neo-
  • Halo 3
  • Halo 3 ODST Campaign Edition
  • Halo 4
  • Halo Wars
  • Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
  • Halo: Reach
  • Halo: Spartan Assault
  • Hard Corps: Uprising
  • Hardwood Backgammon
  • Hardwood Hearts
  • Hardwood Spades
  • Harms Way
  • Haunted House
  • Heavy Weapon
  • Hexic 2
  • Hexic HD
  • Hitman HD Pack
  • Hitman: Absolution
  • Hitman: Blood Money
  • Hunter: The Reckoning
  • Hydro Thunder
  • Hydrophobia

I

  • I am Alive™
  • Ikaruga
  • ilomilo
  • Indiana Jones® and the Emperor’s Tomb™
  • Infinite Undiscovery
  • Injustice: Gods Among Us
  • Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
  • Interpol
  • Iron Brigade

J

  • Jade Empire™
  • Jeremy McGrath’s Offroad
  • Jet Set Radio
  • Jetpac Refuelled
  • Jewel Quest
  • Joe Danger 2: The Movie
  • Joe Danger Special Edition
  • Joust
  • Joy Ride Turbo
  • JUJU
  • Jurassic Park: The Game
  • Just Cause
  • Just Cause 2

K

  • Kameo
  • Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days
  • Killer Is Dead
  • Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
  • KOF Neowave
  • KOF SKY STAGE
  • KOF2002UM

L

  • Lara Croft: GoL
  • Lazy Raiders
  • Left 4 Dead
  • Left 4 Dead 2
  • LEGO Batman
  • LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game
  • LEGO Star Wars III
  • LEGO Star Wars: TCS
  • LEGO® Batman™ 2: DC Super Heroes
  • LEGO® Indiana Jones™
  • LEGO® Indiana Jones™ 2
  • LEGO® Star Wars® II: The Original Trilogy
  • LIGHTNING RETURNS FFXIII
  • Limbo
  • Lode Runner
  • Lost Odyssey
  • Lost Planet 2
  • Lost Planet 3
  • Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
  • Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Colonies Edition
  • LUMINES LIVE!
  • Luxor 2

M

  • Mad Tracks
  • Madballs Babo: Invasion
  • Mafia II
  • Magic 2012
  • Magic 2013
  • Magic 2014 — Duels of the Planeswalkers
  • Magic: The Gathering
  • Marathon: Durandal
  • Marlow Briggs
  • Mars: War Logs
  • Mass Effect
  • Mass Effect 2
  • Mass Effect 3
  • Matt Hazard: BBB
  • Medal of Honor: Airborne
  • Meet the Robinsons
  • MEGA MAN 10
  • MEGA MAN 9
  • Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction
  • METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE
  • METAL GEAR SOLID HD: 2 & 3
  • Metal Slug 3
  • Metal Slug XX
  • MGS PW HD
  • Midnight Club: Los Angeles
  • Midway Arcade Origins
  • Might & Magic Clash of Heroes
  • Military Madness
  • Mirror’s Edge
  • Missile Command
  • Modern Warfare® 3
  • Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine
  • Monday Night Combat
  • Monkey Island 2: SE
  • Monkey Island: SE
  • MONOPOLY DEAL
  • MONOPOLY PLUS
  • MOON DIVER
  • Motocross Madness
  • Mr. DRILLER Online
  • Ms. Splosion Man
  • MS.PAC-MAN
  • Mutant Blobs Attack
  • Mutant Storm Empire
  • Mutant Storm Reloaded
  • MX Unleashed
  • MX vs. ATV Reflex

N

  • N+
  • NBA JAM: On Fire Edition
  • NEOGEO BATTLE COLISEUM
  • NEW RALLY-X
  • NiGHTS into dream…
  • NIN2-Jump
  • NINJA GAIDEN 2
  • NINJA GAIDEN 3: Razor’s Edge
  • Ninja Gaiden Black

O

  • Oblivion
  • OF: Dragon Rising
  • Omega Five
  • Operation Flashpoint: Red River
  • Orcs Must Die!
  • Outland
  • Overlord
  • Overlord II

P

  • P4A
  • Pac-Man
  • Pac-Man C.E
  • PAC-MAN CE DX+
  • PAC-MAN MUSEUM
  • Panzer Dragoon Orta
  • Peggle
  • Peggle® 2
  • Perfect Dark
  • Perfect Dark Zero
  • Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie
  • Phantasy Star II
  • Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds
  • Pinball FX
  • Planets Under Attack
  • Plants vs. Zombies
  • Port Royale 3 Pirates & Merchants
  • Portal 2
  • Portal: Still Alive
  • Prey
  • Prince of Persia
  • Prince of Persia
  • Prince of Persia
  • Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands™
  • Psychonauts
  • Pure
  • Putty Squad
  • Puzzle Quest
  • Puzzle Quest 2
  • Puzzle Quest Galactrix
  • Puzzlegeddon

Q

  • QIX ++
  • Quantum Conundrum

R

  • R-Type Dimensions
  • R.U.S.E.
  • Radiant Silvergun
  • Rage
  • Raiden IV
  • Rainbow Six® Vegas
  • Rainbow Six® Vegas 2
  • Raskulls
  • Rayman 3 HD
  • Rayman Raving Rabbids
  • Rayman® Legends
  • Rayman® Origins
  • Red Dead Redemption
  • Red Faction II
  • Red Faction: Armageddon
  • Red Faction: Battlegrounds
  • RESIDENT EVIL CODE: Veronica X HD
  • RoboBlitz
  • Rocket Knight®
  • Rockstar Table Tennis
  • Rumble Roses XX
  • Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien

S

  • Sacred 3
  • Sacred Citadel
  • Saints Row
  • Saints Row 2
  • Saints Row IV
  • Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell
  • Saints Row® The Third™
  • Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space
  • Sam & Max Save the World
  • Samurai Shodown II
  • Scarygirl
  • Scrap Metal
  • Screamride
  • SEGA Bass Fishing
  • Sega Vintage Collection: Alex Kidd & Co.
  • Sega Vintage Collection: Golden Axe
  • Sega Vintage Collection: Monster World
  • Sega Vintage Collection: Streets of Rage
  • Sensible World of Soccer
  • Shadow Assault/Tenchu
  • Shadow Complex
  • Shadowrun
  • Shadows of the Damned
  • Shank™ 2
  • Shinobi
  • Shotest Shogi
  • Shred Nebula
  • Sid Meier’s Pirates!
  • Silent Hill Homecoming
  • Silent Hill: Downpour
  • Silent Hill: HD Collection
  • SINE MORA™
  • Skate 3
  • skate.
  • Skullgirls
  • Skydive
  • Slender: The Arrival
  • Small Arms
  • Sniper Elite V2
  • Soltrio Solitaire
  • Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
  • Sonic & Knuckles
  • Sonic Adventure
  • Sonic Adventure™ 2
  • Sonic CD
  • Sonic Generations
  • Sonic the Fighters
  • Sonic The Hedgehog
  • Sonic The Hedgehog 2
  • Sonic The Hedgehog 3
  • Sonic The Hedgehog™ 4 Episode I
  • Sonic The Hedgehog™ 4 Episode II
  • SONIC UNLEASHED
  • SOULCALIBUR
  • SoulCalibur II HD
  • South Park™: The Stick of Truth™
  • Space Ark
  • Space Giraffe
  • Space Invaders: IG
  • Spec Ops: The Line
  • Spelunky
  • Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy™
  • Split/Second
  • Splosion Man
  • SSX
  • SSX 3
  • Stacking
  • Star Ocean: The Last Hope
  • Star Wars Battlefront
  • Star Wars Battlefront II
  • Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
  • Star Wars Jedi Starfighter
  • Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
  • Star Wars Republic Commando
  • Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
  • Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
  • Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
  • Strania
  • STREET FIGHTER IV
  • Stuntman: Ignition
  • Super Contra
  • Super Meat Boy
  • Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
  • SUPER STREETFIGHTER IV ARCADE EDITION
  • Supreme Commander 2
  • SVC: ToeJam & Earl
  • Syberia
  • Syndicate

T

  • Tecmo Bowl Throwback®
  • TEKKEN 6
  • Tekken Tag Tournament 2
  • Texas Hold’em
  • The Bureau
  • The Cave
  • The Darkness
  • The Darkness II
  • The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
  • The King of Fighters 98
  • THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII
  • The Maw
  • The Orange Box
  • The Splatters™
  • The Walking Dead
  • The Walking Dead: Michonne – Episode 1
  • The Walking Dead: Season Two
  • The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
  • Ticket to Ride
  • TimeShift
  • Tom Clancy’s EndWar
  • Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
  • Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter™
  • Tom Clancy’s HAWX
  • Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction
  • Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Double Agent
  • Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent
  • Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow®
  • Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell®
  • Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell® Blacklist™
  • Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell® Chaos Theory™
  • Tomb Raider Underworld
  • Tomb Raider: Anniversary
  • Tomb Raider: Legend
  • Too Human
  • Torchlight
  • Tour de France 2009
  • Tower Bloxx Deluxe
  • Toy Soldiers
  • Toy Soldiers Cold War
  • Toy Story 3
  • Toybox Turbos
  • Trials Evolution
  • Trials HD
  • Triggerheart Exelica
  • Trine 2
  • Tron: Evolution
  • Tropico 4

U

  • Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon
  • Unbound Saga
  • Undertow
  • Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict
  • Unreal Tournament® 3

V

  • VANQUISH
  • Virtua Fighter 2
  • Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown
  • Virtual-On OT
  • Viva Piñata
  • Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise

W

  • Winterbottom
  • Wolfenstein 3D
  • Word Puzzle
  • WOTB: Commando 3

X

  • XCOM®: Enemy Unknown
  • XCOM®: Enemy Within

Y

  • Yosumin! LIVE

Z

  • Zoe HD
  • Zuma
  • Zuma’s Revenge!
 

Source Microsoft