E3 2015: Xbox One now offers Xbox 360 game backwards-compatibility

Xbox 360 games will now be playable on the Xbox One, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer has announced.

Making the shock announcement at E3, Spencer said Xbox 360 games will be playable natively on Xbox One. Players will begin being able to play their old titles during the holiday period. 100 titles will be available once the service goes live.

Spencer said that those who already own Xbox 360 retail discs will be able to insert them into the Xbox One, and then download them for free, as long as they are available to download.

Xbox 360 players will also be able to play with their Xbox One counterparts.

Spencer said that developers who want to make their games backwards-compatible will only have to approve titles showing up. No further work will be required on their part.