Xbox 360 Marketplace to Shut Down in 2024

Microsoft has announced the official closure date for the Xbox 360 store. Starting from July 29, 2024, users will no longer have the ability to purchase games, expansions, or any other content through the Xbox 360 console or Marketplace. However, it is important to note that any original Xbox or Xbox 360 games and DLC that are compatible with the newer Xbox One or Series X/S consoles will still be accessible for purchase through their respective storefronts.

You can still buy Xbox 360 games and other content from the console’s store until next July (you should still be able to find used physical copies of the games you want to play, too). All the games in your library will still work on Xbox 360 after the store closes, and you can access many of them on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S through backwards compatibility, too. Microsoft notes that it has improved many Xbox 360 titles in the Series X/S, adding features such as FPS Boost, Auto HDR and faster loading times.

The multiplayer features of Xbox 360 games will continue to be supported as long as publishers and developers keep the game servers running. You can also save your games and progress to the cloud and pick up where you left off on Xbox One or Xbox Series X/S.

The Xbox 360 turns 18 this year, and (as far as I can tell) it’s been five years since the last game was released for it. It may not make business sense for Microsoft to keep the store open. However, closing the store prevents gamers from buying many digital-only games, making the move a blow to game survival.

After fans protested Sony’s plan to close PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita stores in 2021, the company relented and kept them open (albeit following the closure of the PSP store). Sony, on the other hand, forces gamers to go through a few extra hoops to purchase PS3 and Vita games, as neither digital store directly accepts credit, bank or PayPal payments. In 2022, Sony established a game preservation team.