Xbox 360 Store closes down on July 29

The Xbox 360 Store will close on July 29, as per the schedule announced in August 2023. Xbox will no longer support games, add-ons, apps, trailers, avatar items, DLCs, and other purchases. Before July 29, gamers can continue purchasing games from the Xbox 360 store and marketplace. 

Gamers who purchase content before July 29 can access it even after the store shuts down. Due to backward compatibility, gamers can also access the content on the Xbox One and Series X|S.

The Xbox store shutdown will also affect the Microsoft Movies and TV application, due to which the content will be unavailable on Xbox 360 after July 29. The entertainment content will still be available on Windows 10 and later, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

Microsoft Xbox gives discounts to celebrate Xbox 360 18th anniversary

Microsoft applied multiple discounts on different Xbox products to celebrate Xbox 360’s 18 years in the industry. Gamers can get up to 90% discounts on favorite titles on the marketplace, including Xbox classics. With only two days left, many gaming enthusiasts are releasing must-have titles.

Some suggested titles include Sonic 2006 for Xbox, Tom Clancy, Tomb Raider, Batman Arkham Asylum, and Call of Duty Classic. Notable DLCs include Sonic Generations Free Casino, Lara Croft, All Left for Dead 12, and The Maws. There are also discounts on the Avatar and theme store. 

The Xbox website provides the titles of all the products available since Microsoft’s first discount list in May. The community still recognizes that some titles will be lost forever, as X user Kal described . Kal mentioned the current ease of acquiring game titles that could soon become impossible to get.

Microsoft announced discounts and introduced Xbox 360 merchandise. The Heritage Collection is available on the Xbox Gear store. Fans can get the Heritage tee, pullover hoodie, vortex hoodie, and more. 

Besides Microsoft, companies like Double Fine offered Xbox 360 users discounts on their products. Double Fine offered gamers free digital copies of Kinetic Party. The video game developer also asked gamers to download games beforehand to ensure they have the titles before the Xbox 360 Store closing.

Xbox focuses on game preservation

In April, Xbox President Sarah Bond supposedly emailed the company’s staff explaining its focus on preserving games and improving backward compatibility. The email reportedly highlighted Sarah’s appreciation for the steps the Xbox team had taken over the past six months. Sarah supposedly hinted at the next-generation hardware that would act as the biggest technological leap for Xbox. 

Sarah recognized the increasing issues related to game preservation due to digital licensing models and online services. The Xbox president mentioned how publishers and companies do not care about removing games from circulation. Xbox reportedly created a team dedicated to game preservation to give future generations a glimpse of past Xbox games.