TheXbox 360completely dominated its generation of consoles. Launching ahead of the Wii and PS3 by a year likely did a lot to help this. It wasn’t all green for Microsoft though, as the Red Ring of Death incident did cost them a great deal. Eventually, the other two platforms caught up, for some relatively good sales numbers overall in their respective generations.
RELATED:Canceled Xbox One Games You Forgot Existed
Still, when asked who won this era overall, most gamers would probably say Xbox 360. From exclusives to third-party titles, the Xbox 360’s library was huge, many of which are available to play on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. However, there are some big omissions most fans would like to play again.
Updated June 26, 2025 by Mark Sammut:Over 400 Xbox 360 games are backwards compatible with Xbox One and, by extension, Xbox Series X/S. By this point, announcements of new additions have become infrequent, so it is safe to assume that most games that have yet to make the jump will not be doing so in the future. Hopefully, this prediction proves to be false since there are plenty of Xbox 360 titles that would slip seamlessly into the libraries of the console’s successors. In order to highlight that fact, this article has been expanded to include a few moreXbox 360 games that are not backwards compatible with the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
15Dragon Ball Z Budokai HD Collection
TheBudokaigames hold a special place inDragon Ball Zgaming history.Prior to the debut ofDragon Ball FighterZ, theBudokaigames, along withBudokai Tenkaichi, were regarded as the anime’s pinnacle gaming adaptations.Dragon Ball Z Budokai HD Collectiongives the first and third games a fresh coat of paint, although the second entry is bizarrely missing.
This collection doesn’t offer much in the way of significant changes, but it does allow fans to revisit these fun arena fighters in high definition. Even though the Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One are not lacking inDragon Balltitles, there is always room for someBudokai.
Studios opting to not make fighting games backwards compatible makes sense if they are planning to release a sequel; after all, they would essentially just be creating competition for themselves. Consequently, neitherDead or Alive 4and5can be played on the Xbox Series X/S or Xbox One.
Out of those two,Dead or Alive 4is the bigger omission since it is an Xbox 360 exclusive – aHaloSpartan is even unlockable! Team Ninja’s fighter also holds up remarkably well, delivering a smooth counter-heavy combat system that permits each fight to flow similar to a (brutal) dance.
13Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom
TheKingdom Under Fireseries produced a string of games during the 2000s, most of which incorporate real-time strategy elements.Circle of Doom, an Xbox 360 exclusive, is an exception as the 2007 release is ahack and slash game. This results in a more straightforward but accessible experience, albeit not one utterly lacking in depth. Along with the dungeon crawling,Circle of Doomhas its share of RPG elements, including multiple playable characters.
While the game does overstay its welcome,Circle of Doomis entertaining in short bursts. Outside of an RPG and MMO mash-up,Kingdom Under Firehas been dormant sinceCircle of Doom.
12Beautiful Katamari
Beautiful Katamaribrought Namco Bandai’s franchise to Xbox for the first time. Released in 2007 exclusively on the Xbox 360,Beautiful Katamaripreserves the formula of the previous entries in the series; therefore, the gameplay consists of a plucky Prince who goes around rolling up objects of different sizes to create progressively larger balls.
RELATED:Games To Play If You Love The Katamari Series
While not the Prince’s strongest romp,Beautiful Katamarishowcases why this quirky series has carved out a niche for itself over the years. SinceBeautiful Katamariisn’t an option, Xbox One owners will just have to playKatamari Damacy Reroll.
11Naruto: Rise Of A Ninja & The Broken Bond
There are approximately amillionNarutogames, so it is not like Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One owners cannot get their fix of shinobi-themed action. However,Rise of a NinjaandThe Broken Bondare so fantastic that they deserve to be experienced by as many people as possible.
No other games based on the series capture the feeling of living inNaruto’s world as well as these two Xbox 360 exclusives. The graphics are stylish and timeless, the combat is more than serviceable, the platforming is fun and suits the license, and the story does an excellent job covering the arcs from the manga (and anime).
10Binary Domain
This game was made by part oftheYakuzateamat Sega, although it is not connected to theYakuzauniverse at all. It’s a futuristic, team-based cover shooter about androids losing control and trying to destroy the world.
Binary Domainis the best Terminator game ever created without the actual license. The story is over the top and the characters constantly spout cheesy lines, giving this game an irresistible charm.
9Max Payne 3
This year marks the 20th anniversary of theMax Paynefranchise. So far, only the first game has been re-released on more modern consoles via PS4’s PS2 Classics line. The second game never left the Xbox generation, other than on PC.
The same is true forMax Payne 3of theXbox 360 generation. Like the second, it’s available to buy on Steam though. Updating the list to make both of these games playableon Xbox Onewould be a great way to celebrate this anniversary.
8Alpha Protocol
Since Microsoft now owns Obsidian Entertainment, it is odd that this game isn’t on the service.Alpha Protocolwas an Obsidian original game that took their dialogue and RPG expertise to a new genre: spy thrillers.
This title would have been best left in the oven for a few more months, as it was buggy and lacked overall polish. That said, fans still appreciated what it was going for. It’s been completely delisted from any digital service, even Steam, so getting this back may take a miracle.
7The Lord of the Rings: War In The North
This forgotten RPG may be one of the best things that theLord of the Ringsproperty touched outside of the films. That’s including theShadow of Mordorgames.
RELATED:Horror RPGs That Will Keep You Up At Night
Gamers can play this title alone or with two other friends. Its narrative plays out like a parallel story to the main events of the trilogy. It’s been delisted everywhere, probably due to the license. Getting it back will be another case of tricky maneuvering, permitting it’s possible at all.
6Mortal Kombat
Most know the 2011Mortal Kombatgame by just that title. It is technically the ninth in the series but this release got rid of the numbering because the developers thought things were getting a little too convoluted. So instead, they used a time mechanic and rewound the lore.
This basically rebooted the series into the diverse narrative that fans have come to love for a decade now. Its innovation still breaks bounds for fighting games. As much praise as it got, along withMortal Kombat vs DC, are not available as backwards compatible gameson Xbox One.
