It’s the end of an era.
Seven years after it discontinued production for the Xbox 360 video game console, Microsoft announced Thursday that it will shut down the system’s digital storefront on July 29, 2024.
This will put one more nail in the coffin for the Xbox 360, just shy of the fan-favorite platform’s 19th birthday. After the shutdown, users will still be able to play supported games on a 360 and download any digital games or content that they already own, but will no longer be able to buy anything else.
Multiplayer games on 360 will reportedly continue to function after the shutdown for as long as a particular game’s publisher continues to support that game’s servers. This includes several of the older games in the Call of Duty franchise, which quietly surged back to best-seller status in July after Microsoft quietly fixed their matchmaking.
The end of life for the Xbox 360 Marketplace marks another recent blow for efforts in video game preservation. In March, Nintendo shut down the eShops for its Wii U and 3DS consoles. Sony had previously shut down the digital storefronts for the PlayStation 3 and Vita consoles in March 2021.
In both cases, this effectively took several generations of digital games off the market, some of which are now no longer legally available. The closure of the 360’s Marketplace is likely to have a similar effect.
“The Xbox 360 was an innovative console that gave rise to great digital distribution models. We understand the logistical challenges of maintaining aging infrastructure, but it’s a shame to see that legacy discontinued with the Marketplace shutdown,” said Jonas Rosland, the Boston-based executive director of Hit Save, a nonprofit that’s dedicated to the preservation of video games and their history.
“Many outstanding indie games, arcade classics, and innovative experiences got their start as Xbox 360 digital titles,” Rosland said. “Game preservation is about more than just saving commercially successful titles — it’s about retaining the full creative breadth of the medium.”
This is an endemic issue in the video game industry. A July study by the Video Game History Foundation with the support of the University of Washington found that roughly 87% of the video games that have ever been physically available in the U.S. are out of print and “critically endangered,” in much the same way as the lost films of the ‘30s and 40s.
The closure of the Xbox 360 Marketplace is a setback for preservation efforts. Starting in 2004, the Xbox Live Arcade distribution service made it attractive for both established and independent producers to make new, smaller games and publish them on Xbox. This includes early projects from now-established creators such as Seattle’s Ska Studios (Salt and Sacrifice), which released its first game The Dishwasher on XBLA in 2009.
Analysts currently estimate that there are around 220 games that are still digital exclusives to the 360 storefront, many of which have never been ported forward to later versions of the Xbox. As such, they’ll effectively go out of print when the Marketplace shuts down.
As of the evening of Aug. 17, fans have composed the following rough list of games and unique SKUs that are still exclusive to the Xbox 360 Marketplace, which will no longer be legally available after the shutdown.
This includes individual titles, as well as several unique compilations; special editions or collections that were never released on any other platform; and the original versions of a couple of games that were later ported to other consoles.
A game labeled as “(Xbox 360)” refers to that particular digital SKU, which typically isn’t playable on later Xboxes even if you own that SKU on the same account. For example, I own a copy of Bastion for 360 that only works on my 360. If I want to play it on my Series X, I’d have to buy the game again there.
- 0D Beat Drop
- Abyss Odyssey
- Alien Rage
- Alien Spidy
- AMY
- Ancients of Ooga
- Anna – Extended Edition
- Arkadian Warriors
- Assault Heroes
- Awesomenauts (Xbox 360)
- Backbreaker Vengeance
- Bastion (Xbox 360)
- Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate Deluxe Edition
- Battle Academy
- Battlezone
- Bionic Commando: Rearmed
- Black Knight Sword
- Blade Kitten
- Blazing Birds
- Bloody Good Time
- Boogie Bunnies
- Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons (Xbox 360)
- Bubble Bobble Neo!
- Burnout CRASH!
- Call of Duty Classic
- Capsized
- CellFactor: Psychokinetic Wars
- Charlie Murder
- Child of Light (Xbox 360)
- Choplifter HD
- CloudBerry Kingdom
- Cobalt (Xbox 360)
- Constant C
- Crazy Machines Elements
- CrazyMouse
- Crimson Alliance
- Deadliest Warrior: Battlegrounds
- Deadlight
- Death Tank
- Deathsmiles II x (Games on Demand)
- DeathSpank
- Deep Black: Episode 1
- Defenders of Ardania
- Defense Technica
- Diabolical Pitch (Kinect)
- Dogfight 1942
- Dollar Dash
- Double Dragon II: Wander of the Dragons
- Duke Nukem 3D
- Dungeon Defenders
- Dust: An Elysian Tail
- Dustforce
- Ecco the Dolphin
- Exit
- Exit 2
- Fatal Fury Special
- Fez
- Final Exam
- Fire Pro Wrestling
- Fireburst
- Freefall Racers (Kinect)
- Frogger: Hyper Arcade Edition
- Frozen Free Fall: Snowball Fight (Xbox 360)
- Fruit Ninja Kinect
- Full House Poker
- Fusion: Genesis
- Gel: Set & Match
- Geon: Emotions
- Goosebumps: The Game (Xbox 360)
- Gotham City Impostors
- Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus
- Guncraft: Blocked and Loaded
- Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm
- Haunt
- Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit
- Hexodius
- Home Run Stars
- How to Survive
- Hunter’s Trophy 2 America
- Hunter’s Trophy 2 Australia
- Hybrid
- Ion Assault
- JAM Live Music Arcade
- Kinect Fun Labs: Air Band
- Kinect Fun Labs: Avatar Kinect
- Kinect Fun Labs: Battle Stuff
- Kinect Fun Labs: Bobble Head
- Kinect Fun Labs: Build A Buddy
- Kinect Fun Labs: Googly Eyes
- Kinect Fun Labs: I Am Super!
- Kinect Fun Labs: Junk Fu
- Kinect Fun Labs: Kinect Me
- Kinect Fun Labs: Kinect Rush: Snapshot
- Kinect Fun Labs: Kinect Sparkler
- Kinect Fun Labs: Mars Rover Landing
- Kinect Fun Labs: Musical Feet
- Kinect Fun Labs: Mutation Station
- Kinect Sports Gems: 10 Frame Bowling
- Kinect Sports Gems: 3 Point Contest
- Kinect Sports Gems: Boxing Fight
- Kinect Sports Gems: Darts vs. Zombies
- Kinect Sports Gems: Field Goal Contest
- Kinect Sports Gems: Penalty Saver
- Kinect Sports Gems: Ping Pong
- Kinect Sports Gems: Prize Driver
- Kinect Sports Gems: Reaction Rally
- Kinect Sports Gems: Ski Race
- King’s Quest (Xbox 360)
- Leedmees (Kinect)
- Legend of Kay – Anniversary (Games on Demand)
- Life is Strange (Xbox 360)
- LocoCycle (Xbox 360)
- Lucidity
- Mark of the Ninja
- Marvel Puzzle Quest: Dark Reign (Xbox 360)
- Masquerade: The Baubles of Doom (Xbox 360)
- Max: The Curse of Brotherhood (Xbox 360)
- Mensa Academy
- Meteos Wars
- MicroBot
- Mighty No. 9 (Xbox 360)
- Minesweeper Flags
- Mini Ninjas Adventures (Kinect)
- Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection
- Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise
- NCAA Basketball 09 March Madness Edition
- NFL Blitz
- Painkiller (Games on Demand)
- Panzer General: Allied Assault
- Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode 1
- Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode 2
- Pinball FX2 (Xbox 360)
- Prison Architect
- Puzzle Arcade
- PUZZLE BOBBLE Live!
- Puzzle Chronicles
- R.B.I. Baseball 14 (Xbox 360)
- Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure!
- RayStorm HD
- Red Johnson’s Chronicles: One Against All
- Rekoil: Liberator
- Renegade Ops
- Resident Evil (Xbox 360)
- Resident Evil 0 (Xbox 360)
- Resident Evil 4 (Games on Demand)
- RIDE (American digital version)
- Risk (Xbox 360)
- Risk: Urban Assault (Xbox 360)
- Rocket Riot
- RocketBowl
- Rotastic
- Rush’N Attack: Ex-Patriot
- Sanctum 2
- Scene It? Movie Night: Mega Movies
- Schizoid
- Sealife Safari
- Section 8: Prejudice
- Shooting Love 200x (Games on Demand)
- Skulls of the Shogun
- South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play!
- South Park: Tenorman’s Revenge
- Space Invaders Extreme
- Spare Parts
- Spyglass Board Games
- Star Raiders
- State of Decay
- Storm
- Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting
- Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Edition
- Streets of Rage 2
- Strider (Xbox 360)
- Super Time Force (Xbox 360)
- Syberia 2
- Takedown: Red Sabre
- Tempest
- The Bluecoats – North vs South
- The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 (Xbox 360)
- The Bridge (Xbox 360)
- The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai
- The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile
- The Escapists (Xbox 360)
- The Fancy Pants Adventures
- The Path of Go
- Things on Wheels
- Thunder Wolves
- TiQal
- TNT Racers
- Totemball
- Trials Fusion (Xbox 360)
- Trivial Pursuit Live! (Xbox 360)
- Tron
- Valiant Hearts: The Great War (Xbox 360)
- Vigilante 8 Arcade
- Virtua Striker
- Voodoo Dice
- War World
- Warlords
- Warp
- Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Special Editions
- Wing Commander Arena
- Wits & Wagers
- Wreckateer (Kinect)
- Wrecked: Revenge Revisited
- Yar’s Revenge
- Yie Ar Kung-Fu
- Yo-Ho Kablammo
- Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Decade Duels Plus
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Millennium Duels
- Zeit²
- Zeno Clash II
- Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition
- Zombie Driver HD
- Zombie Wranglers
