Xbox's 25th anniversary: Retro Xbox games returning in 2026 with “entirely new ways” to play
Xbox is celebrating its 25th anniversary by teasing that some timeless and iconic games from its historical catalog are slated to make a comeback in 2026, and it’s all thanks to the discreet work of a dedicated team of developers whose core focus is to keep retro games alive. This news popped up right around Xbox’s next-gen plans with Project Helix.
During an interview at the Game Developers Conference, Xbox’s vice president of next generation, Jason Ronald, shared some behind-the-scenes efforts and explained their game-preservation work, stating:
“The game-preservation team has been working very hard in the background for a number of years. As part of our 25th anniversary later this year, they will release some iconic games from the past that will now be playable in entirely new ways. This shows our commitment to game preservation and to enabling these games to be played by the next generation of players in ways that are very familiar to them.”
The unfortunate part is that Ronald didn’t elaborate on the roster of retro Xbox titles that would be enjoying re-releases, nor did he explain what those “entirely new ways” to play these titles would look like.
Nonetheless, he did explain how Xbox approaches updates for older titles to achieve that modern feel without skimping on their core identity. As we’ve seen with Xbox Series S|X backward compatibility, some titles have received automatic HDR and frame-rate improvements. It’s expected that Xbox will continue this tradition with its upcoming lineup of retro releases, too. Ronald further explained:
“Not only do we want to preserve those games, but we also want to take advantage of the latest technology to enable them to be played in entirely new ways. I think about features like Auto HDR as an example—being able to put HDR on top of a game that was created before HDR even existed. It feels entirely new. It feels very fresh.
I think about features like FPS Boost, where we take games that were originally designed to run at a certain frame rate and now run them at a significantly higher frame rate. It also feels like a remaster for a lot of players.”
Ronald concluded the interview, stating, “I have so many personal stories of games that maybe my son has played, and it’s like the game came out before he was ever born. Yes, it might be an old game for me. It’s a brand-new game for him. I fundamentally believe that great games are timeless.”
Source(s)
Add as a preferred