It’s no surprise that the Xbox Series X / S will be highly-anticipated (and probably sold out) when it launches this November. But while many will be looking forward to stretching their next-gen technologies to the limits with the likes of Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and Watch Dogs: Legion, it’s also worth noting that the new consoles will also be able to run optimised versions of new and current titles via Smart Delivery.
A new Xbox Wire post details how 30 games will be made available on the Xbox Series X and S in upscaled and optimised versions at day one, thanks to Microsoft’s upscaling technology called Smart Delivery. What this does is automatically update the game , be it a digital download or from a physical disc, to fit the console’s current configurations and optimise performance for it. This lets players play the games they’ve been playing on the Xbox One at much richer and crisp detail on the Xbox Series X or S.
Here’s a list of the 30 games (including the 20 that will be optimised via Smart Delivery) coming to the new consoles at launch:
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (Smart Delivery)
- Borderlands 3 (Smart Delivery)
- Bright Memory 1.0
- Cuisine Royale (Smart Delivery)
- Dead by Daylight(Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
- Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition
- DIRT 5 (Smart Delivery)
- Enlisted
- Evergate
- The Falconeer (Smart Delivery)
- Fortnite
- Forza Horizon 4 (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
- Gears 5 (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
- Gears Tactics (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
- Grounded (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
- King Oddball (Smart Delivery)
- Maneater (Smart Delivery)
- Manifold Garden (Smart Delivery)
- NBA 2K21
- Observer: System Redux
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
- Planet Coaster (Smart Delivery)
- Sea of Thieves(Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
- Tetris Effect: Connected (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
- The Touryst (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
- War Thunder (Smart Delivery)
- Warhammer: Chaosbane Slayer Edition
- Watch Dogs: Legion (Smart Delivery)
- WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship (Smart Delivery)
- Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Smart Delivery)
- Yes, Your Grace (Smart Delivery)
As if that wasn’t enough, Microsoft has also announced that it will launch the Xbox Series X and S with full backwards compatibility support in the form of over 1,000 games across four generations of Xbox, so you can replay all your favourite titles growing up over the past two decades.
All you need to do when you get your shiny new Xbox Series X is load up the original Xbox, Xbox 360 or Xbox One disc into the console, and it’ll be installed and ready to play. For digital versions of the game, all you need is to have them loaded up in an external storage device and connect them to the Series X/S and they’ll be installed and ready to play there too. And the best part about this is that it comes at no additional cost!
“Preserving the games of our past is fundamental to our DNA at Xbox and our continued promise to you. Backward compatibility lets you experience your cherished gaming memories again and in new ways. Your favorite games retain everything the original developer intended, while experiencing enhancements and exciting new features. There’s no need to look back, because your games are ready to move forward with you to the next generation of Xbox,” says Peggy Lo, Compatibility Program Lead at Xbox in another Xbox Wire post.
In any case, it’s shaping up to be quite the massive launch for Xbox fans. Though its slate of first-party next-gen launch titles pales slightly in comparison to the PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series X/S more than makes up for it with a literal army of classic games at players’ disposal.
Marion has a serious RPG addiction. Sometimes it bleeds into real life; he forgets to sleep because he thinks he has a Witcher’s body clock. Forgive him in advance if he suddenly blurts out terms such as “Mind Flayer” and “Magic Missile”, because never once does he stop thinking about his next Dungeons & Dragons game.
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