Microsoft has championed video game preservation for years. The tech giant confirmed last year that it will no longer add more backwards-compatible games to its massive library, but the fact that it bothered to do so says a lot about its stance compared to its rivals, Sony and Nintendo. Now, Microsoft is looking into ways to enhance older titles when played over the internet, or if we’re being technical, the cloud.
According to a new patent filed by Microsoft (via Game Rant), it’s describing a cloud-based streaming service that can implement unspecified enhancements in older games right there and then. This would effectively eliminate the need for dedicated fans to come up with fixes for unplayable games years after their launch.
On paper, this is great, but the actual implementation remains to be seen. Not to mention, we don’t think Sony and Nintendo will let any “alterations” made to its older games pass. If this technology sees the light of day, it might only apply to Xbox’s library, which pales in comparison to Sony and Nintendo. Keep in mind that Microsoft is a relatively new player in the gaming industry after getting its start in the early 2000s. In comparison, Sony is at least one decade older on the market, and Nintendo is one of the oldest companies in the world after being founded in 1889 (it didn’t get into the gaming space until 1977).
Still, there’s merit in what Microsoft is doing. After all, nothing is permanent. Once upon a time, Sony didn’t care for PC ports of first-party exclusive titles. Now, we’re looking forward to seeing Returnal and The Last of Us Part 1 head to Steam and the Epic Games Store after welcoming Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, among others, over the past few months.
There’s hope that Microsoft’s efforts could help convince Sony and Nintendo to take video game preservation much more seriously.
Until then, you might want to check out our list of the best backward-compatible Xbox 360 games to play on the Xbox Series X.
