Microsoft Celebrates 20 Years of Xbox

Nov 15, 2021

November 15th marked the 20th anniversary since the first release of the original Xbox! Microsoft celebrated the occasion with a livestream on Twitch, Facebook, and YouTube. While most video game industry events are focused on the future of games and technology, Xbox wanted to also celebrate its history.

Microsoft released the first generation Xbox in 2001 as a way to dip into the gaming console market. Competing with Sony’s Playstation 2, Sega’s Dreamcast, and Nintendo’s GameCube, Microsoft was the first American company to release a console. Since their first console release, Microsoft has sold over 160 million Xbox consoles.

The entire livestream was a blend of old and new, featuring clips of previous Xbox events “from the vault”. There were many internet speculations on what might be announced at the event, but let’s break down what was confirmed and announced!

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For those interested in the history of video games and technology, a six part documentary series will feature the story of how Xbox began and where they’re at now. Starting December 13th, watch Xbox employees of the past and present talk about their experiences in the development of major Xbox products. Power On: The Story of Xbox will air across most video streaming platforms, like Roku, IMDb TV, YouTube, and Redbox.

Xbox

Peggy Lo, compatibility program lead, announced that over 70 original Xbox and Xbox 360 games will be backwards compatible. Games included are:

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
Aces of the Galaxy
Advent Rising
Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Make the Grade
Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Burning Earth
Bankshot Billiards 2
Beautiful Katamari
Binary Domain
Black College Football Xperience: Doug Williams Edition
Cloning Clyde
Conan
Darwinia+
Dead or Alive Ultimate
Dead or Alive 3
Dead or Alive 4
Death by Cube
Disney Universe
Disney’s Chicken Little
Elements of Destruction
Fear
Fear 2: Project Origin
Fear 3
Fear Files
The First Templar
Gladius
Gunvalkyrie
Islands of Wakfu
Lego The Lord of the Rings
Manhunt
Max Payne
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Max Payne 3
Mini Ninjas
Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
MX vs. ATV Alive
MX vs. ATV Untamed
Nier
Novadrome
Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee
Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad
Otogi: Myth of Demons
Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors
The Outfit
Outpost Kaloki X
Quake Arena Arcade
R.A.W. - Realms of Ancient War
Red Dead Revolver
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
Ridge Racer 6
Rio
Risen
Risen 2: Dark Waters
Rock of Ages
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
Scramble
Screwjumper!
Secret Weapons Over Normandy
Skate 2
SpongeBob SquarePants Underpants Slam!
SpongeBob’s Truth or Square
Star Wars Starfighter: Special Edition
Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
Switchball
Thrillville
Thrillville: Off the Rails
Time Pilot
TimeSplitters 2
TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
Toy Story Mania!
Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment
Viva Piñata: Party Animals
Warlords

All games added will benefit from Auto HDR, a feature that analyzes and converts standard definition resolution (SDR) to high definition resolution (HDR). Many will also improve with increased frame rates from the FPS Boost feature that was introduced in the Xbox Series X. Some backward compatible games already in the library will be getting an FPS Boost as well, such as Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Dragon Age: Origins, and Alan Wake.

Partnering with Netflix and the cast of their new movie Red Notice, fans of Xbox can enter to win exclusive prizes at XboxVault.com. More of an interactive story narrated by Dwayne Johnson, players have four minutes “within” the vault to find hidden artifacts. Prizes include an oil painting of “The Rock”, three replica Cleopatra Eggs featured in the movie, 20 custom Red Notice Xbox Series X consoles, and more!

Streaming in 2022 on Paramount+, the first Halo TV series trailer was revealed. It’s the first glimpse of the upcoming live-action adaption. It was a short trailer that didn’t reveal much, but is rumored to tell a new story around the Master Chief within the Halo universe.

Xbox

Anyone on Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X and PC can now play the beta season one of Halo Infinite! Originally set to launch December 8th, any progress, cosmetics, unlocks, and stats from the multiplayer mode will carry over on launch day. Game mode and features included are: