Xbox is officially 25 years old next year and Microsoft has teased a “major” 2026 as it prepares to celebrate the OG console’s anniversary in a big way. And those plans might just include more classic Xbox titles heading to Game Pass, depending how you choose to interpret the words of Xbox’s vice president of next-gen gaming devices and ecosystem, Jason Ronald.
During an interview with the BBC about Xbox’s recent ASUS handheld collaboration, the ROG Xbox Ally X, Ronald was asked about the possibility of more games from the original Xbox making their way to Game Pass. In classic senior executive fashion, his response danced around the question in wildly non-committal ways, but a charitable reading of his carefully selected words might bring hope to old-school fans.
“I can’t announce anything today,” he replied, “but 2026 is the 25th anniversary of Xbox. And we want to celebrate the great legacy and the history that we have with Xbox, as well as defining the future for where the Xbox ecosystem is going. So, I can’t confirm or deny what you are asking, but stay tuned – we have a lot of exciting things to share next year.”
“Great games are timeless and I think we not only feel a need but also a responsibility to preserve the games from the past,” Ronald added elsewhere in the interview, “and enable them to be played in entirely new ways.”
Microsoft, of course, brought its backward-compatibility update efforts to an end in 2021, leaving a catalogue of around 630 Xbox 360 games and approximately 60 original Xbox games officially playable on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, with a variety of enhancements and improvements. However, last year brought word the company had established a new team to focus on video game preservation and forward compatibility, suggesting it might be looking to future-proof even more of its library.
Whatever Microsoft’s backward-compatibility plans might hold, Ronald’s references to playing old games in “entirely new ways” also brings to mind its remake efforts. Next year sees the launch of Halo: Campaign Evolved, an already controversial remake of Halo: Combat Evolved‘s single-player campaign, which will mark the legendary Xbox series’ PlayStation debut.