Although previous purchases will be protected for users in the foreseeable future, Microsoft has announced that it will be shutting down the Xbox 360 Marketplace after July 29, 2024. This means it will no longer be possible to purchase games or DLC from it.
Because not every game available on the service is playable on a disc or with backwards compatibility, that means that many of these beloved titles could disappear forever.
Where Things Stand Now
Currently, there are about 500 games in the ‘Games on Demand’ section of the Xbox 360 store. While these will vanish when the store closes, some will still be available via digital purchase thanks to the Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One stores, provided they are part of the backward compatible games library.
For those not backwards compatible, you could potentially play the games using discs purchased from online retailers, conventions, and or local retro game shops. Therefore, none of these titles are considered lost, it just means you’ll have to work harder to play them.
What’s At Risk
Rather, it’s the Xbox Live Arcade section containing digital-only titles that are at risk of disappearing, due to the lack of physical alternatives.
Of the 619 titles listed in the Arcade (North America), only some offer backwards compatibility, and others have been delisted.
As of the time of this post, the full list of digital-exclusive Xbox 360 games that will disappear on July 29, 2024 is as follows:
- 0D Beat Drop
- 10 Frame Bowling (Kinect)
- 1942: Joint Strike
- 3 Point Contest (Kinect)
- Abyss Odyssey
- Alien Breed Episode 1
- Alien Breed 2: Assault
- Alien Breed 3: Descent
- Alien Rage
- Alien Spidy
- Amy
- Ancients of Ooga
- Anna: Extended Edition
- Arkadian Warriors
- Assault Heroes
- Avatar FameStars
- Awesomenauts
- Backbreaker Vengeance
- Bastion
- Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate
- Batman: The Telltale Series
- Battle Academy
- Battlezone
- Bejeweled Blitz Live
- Bionic Commando: Rearmed
- Black Knight Sword
- Blade Kitten
- Blazing Birds
- Bloody Good Time
- The Bluecoats: North vs South
- Bomberman Live
- Boogie Bunnies
- Boxing Fight (Kinect)
- The Bridge
- Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
- Bubble Bobble Neo!
- Burnout Crash!
- Call of Duty Classic
- Capsized
- CellFactor: Psychokinetic Wars
- Charlie Murder
- Child of Light
- Choplifter HD
- Cloudberry Kingdom
- Cobalt
- Constant C
- Contrast
- Crazy Machines Elements
- CrazyMouse
- Crimson Alliance
- Crimson Dragon (Kinect)
- Darkstalkers Resurrection
- Darts vs Zombies (Kinect)
- Deadliest Warrior: Battlegrounds
- Deadlight
- Death Tank
- Deep Black: Episode 1
- Defenders of Ardania
- Defense Technica
- Destination: Arcade
- Diabolical Pitch (Kinect)
- The Dishwasher
- The Dishwasher: VS
- Dogfight 1942
- Dollar Dash
- Double Dragon II
- Duke Nukem 3D
- Dungeon Defenders
- Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale
- Dust: An Elysian Tail
- Dustforce
- Ecco the Dolphin
- Exit
- Exit 2
- The Fancy Pants Adventures
- Fatal Fury Special
- Fez
- Field Goal Contest (Kinect)
- Final Exam
- Fire Pro Wrestling
- Fireburst
- Freefall Racers (Kinect)
- Frogger: Hyper Arcade Edition
- Frozen Free Fall: Snowball Fight
- Fruit Ninja Kinect (Kinect)
- Full House Poker
- Fusion: Genesis
- Gel
- Geon
- Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams
- Goosebumps: The Game
- Gotham City Impostors
- Guilty Gear XX ACore Plus
- Guncraft: Blocked and Loaded
- Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm
- Haunt (Kinect)
- Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit
- Hexodius
- Home Run Stars (Kinect)
- How to Survive
- Hunter’s Trophy 2: America
- Hunter’s Trophy 2: Australia
- Hybrid
- Ion Assault
- Jam Live Music Arcade
- Kinect Party – Base Game (Kinect)
- Kinect Sports Gems (Kinect)
- Leedmees (Kinect)
- Life is Strange
- LocoCycle
- Lucidity
- Magic 2015
- Mark of the Ninja
- Marvel Puzzle Quest
- Masquerade
- Max: The Curse of Brotherhood
- Meteos Wars
- MicroBot
- Mighty No 9
- Minesweeper Flags
- Mini Ninjas Adventures (Kinect)
- Mortal Kombat Arcade
- Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise
- NCAA Basketball: March Madness Edition
- Panzer General
- The Path of Go
- Penalty Saver (Kinect)
- Penny Arcade (Episode 1)
- Penny Arcade (Episode 2)
- Pinball FX2
- Ping Pong (Kinect)
- Prison Architect: Xbox 360 Edition
- Prize Driver (Kinect)
- Puzzle Arcade
- Puzzle Bobble Live
- Puzzle Chronicles
- RBI Baseball 14
- Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure!
- The Raven
- Raystorm HD
- Reaction Rally (Kinect)
- Red Johnson’s Chronicles
- Rekoil: Liberator
- Renegade Ops
- Resident Evil
- Resident Evil 0
- Rez HD
- Risk
- Risk: Urban Assault
- Rocket Riot
- RocketBowl
- Rotastic
- Rush’n Attack
- Rush’n Attack: Ex-Patriot
- Sanctum 2
- Scene It? Movie Night
- Schizoid
- Sea Life Safari
- Section 8: Prejudice
- Sega Vintage Collection: ToeJam & Earl
- Ski Race (Kinect)
- Skulls of the Shogun
- South Park: Let’s Go Tower Defense Play!
- South Park: Tenorman’s Revenge
- Space Channel 5 Part 2
- Space Invaders Extreme
- Spare Parts
- Spyglass Board Games
- Star Raiders
- State of Decay
- Storm
- Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting
- Street Fighter III: Online Edition
- Strider
- Special Forces Team X
- Super Time Force
- Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
- Syberia 2
- Takedown: Red Sabre
- Tales from the Borderlands
- Tempest
- Things on Wheels
- TiQal
- TNT Racers
- TotemBall
- Track & Field
- Trials Fusion
- Trivial Pursuit Live
- Tron
- Valiant Hearts: The Great War
- Vessel
- Vigilante 8 Arcade
- Voodoo Dice
- War World
- Warlords (2008 release)
- Warp
- Watchmen
- Watchmen Part 2
- Way of the Dogg
- Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
- Wik: Fable of Souls
- Wing Commander Arena
- Wits & Wagers
- The Wolf Among Us
- Worms
- Worms 2: Armageddon
- Worms Revolution
- Worms: Ultimate Mayhem
- Wreckateer (Kinect)
- Wrecked: Revenge Revisited
- Xevious
- Yar’s Revenge
- Yie Ar King-Fu
- Yo-Ho Kablammo
- Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Decade Duels Plus
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Millennium Duels
- Zeit 2
- Zeno Clash UE
- Zeno Clash 2
- Zombie Driver HD
- Zombie Wranglers
If you remove games previously delisted and those that are already backwards compatible, this means there are approximately 220 digital-only games that will disappear from trade and not be available to purchase ever again.
Still, Microsoft has always emphasized the importance of legacy support for old games as part of its core strategy in the gaming industry. Hopefully, as part of their ongoing effort to put themselves in front again, they will continue to prioritize this using their modern systems.