Xbox One gets backward compatibility with Doritos Crash Course — and some other junk

One of the greatest accomplishments in adver-gaming lives thanks to Microsoft’s backward compatibility initiative.

The Xbox One now supports 16 more Xbox 360 games. Microsoft stuck to its promise that it would update its latest home console each month with new backward compatibility games, and today the company posted a blog detailing the new batch of 360 releases that are making the leap to Xbox One. The biggest games include Portal, Halo Reach, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution — although, I’m partial to the free, commercial-as-a-game platformer Doritos Crash Course. Xbox One now has compatibility with well more than 100 Xbox 360 games after getting support for that console last month, which means you can keep playing it on your Xbox One if you own it digitally or even if you only have the disc.

Microsoft also shared that gamers have spent more than 9 million hours playing Xbox 360 releases on Xbox One. The most popular backward-compatible titles? Well, that includes Fallout 3, Gears of War 3, Just Cause 2, Assassin’s Creed II, and Dirt 3.

That list also confirms that the Xbox One’s backward compatibility could serve as a crucial marketing tool moving forward. Fallout 3 and Just Cause 2 both lead directly into Fallout 4 and Just Cause 3. It seems likely that publishers will use this support for the last generation console to promote their games and hype up their fan bases by ensuring the Xbox One gets support for the old game in the months preceding the debut of a sequel.

Hell, we’re actually getting something like that this month with Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Xbox One players can play or replay that game now and maybe it’ll get them pumped up to preorder Square Enix’s Deus Ex: Mankind Divided followup.

Finally, it also seems possible that monthly announcements of new backward compatible games could help Microsoft win a bit of the public relations war with Sony. The PlayStation 4 recently got emulation of the PlayStation 2, but instead of making previously purchased PS2 games work with the new console, Sony is asking its fans to buy them all over again. If Microsoft keeps bringing back games like Deus Ex and Portal — especially if it gives those games away at no extra charge to gamers as part of its Games With Gold subscription — the Xbox One could make PS4 look a bit silly.