I don’t want to give up my Xbox 360. The transition between the 360 and Xbox One is likely going to be a more gradual one than it was going from an Xbox to an Xbox 360 back in 2005. This means holding onto my 360 while still upgrading to the next generation.
Since I’m keeping my 360 and buying an Xbox One, I wanted to know what owning two Xbox consoles actually meant. Do they work together at all or are they two separate entities? I reached out to Microsoft and got some answers on what gamers who will own both consoles can expect from their Xboxes.
Xbox Live
You’ll be able to bring your Gamertag from the Xbox 360 to the Xbox One, just like you could bring it from the Xbox to the Xbox 360. But your Xbox Live profile is much more fluid now. Signing into your Microsoft account associated with your Gamertag will show your profile whether it’s for games on Xbox One or Xbox 360. The same profile will work on both consoles. You can also be simultaneously logged-in on an Xbox One and an Xbox 360 using the same Xbox Live account.
You can freely roam across any number of Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles in your home, but you can’t sign into two Xbox One consoles or two Xbox 360 consoles at the same time using the same profile. And no, you can’t chat or play cooperatively or against your profile in the same game online with the two different consoles. Because Xbox One and the new services of Xbox Live were designed to power next generation experiences, they’re not compatible with Xbox 360. This means chat and cross-generation multiplayer will not be available. However, you can send text messages between Xbox Live members on Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
Friends Lists
Your Xbox 360 friends list transfers to your Xbox One every time you log in. Log into your profile on either system and you’ll see your Achievements and friends. However, your list is a one-way street. The friends you add while on Xbox One only appear on Xbox One and would need to be added separately on Xbox 360 if you wanted to see them there.
Library of XBLA games
Since Xbox One isn’t compatible with Xbox 360 games, your library of digital Xbox 360 games won’t transfer over. But many of the Xbox One’s Family Sharing features still look to be in place. As an Xbox Live Gold member you can designate your Xbox One with Home Gold, so anyone in your home can enjoy many Gold benefits (digital games, multiplayer gaming, access to apps) on that console at no additional cost even if you are not home or logged in. Home Gold is exclusive to Xbox One.
Achievements
Get ready for a Gamerscore boost. Every game has its own set of Achievements, so if you’re playing any game that comes out on Xbox One and Xbox 360, you can earn a separate set of Achievements in each game. That’s right, you can actually play the same title (let’s say “Call of Duty: Ghosts”) on two different systems and get Achievements in both games, and they both apply to your overall Gamerscore.
Xbox One Achievements are going to be much different than what gamers are used to earning with the Xbox 360. In most cases Xbox One and Xbox 360 games will be unique to each system and developers may choose to have different Achievements for each title. We don’t really know specifically what those differences are yet, but gamers can look forward to being able to unlock new Achievements throughout the year, time- and goal-based Achievements, and earning prizes inside and outside of the games.