E3 2015 Launches Xbox One Backwards Compatibility, Early Game Access, And Biggest Xbox And Windows Exclusive Titles Halo 5, Gears of War 4, Rise of The Tomb Raider And More

One of the two biggest press events of E3 2015, Microsoft Xbox definitely did not disappoint gamers the world over with its explosive announcements and releases at their E3 2015 press event today.

Opening with one of the most anticipated Xbox titles this year, the Microsoft E3 press brief officially announced Halo 5 Guardians was coming, exclusive to Xbox One, on October 27. The Halo 5 Guardians presentation at the E3 brief featured a riveting playthrough and a sneak peek into its controversial plot — is Master Chief a hero or a traitor?

Josh Holmes from 343 industries revealed at the E3 press event that Halo 5 Guardians is the biggest and most ambitious Halo co-op experience yet, and will feature massive maps four times the size of the previous Halo games. With a more-than-ever exciting multiplayer mode, Halo 5’s Warzone will also be one to look out for.

Probably the biggest and most exciting news announced by Microsoft at their E3 2015 presentation is the Xbox One backward compatibility. Bringing the E3 crowd to applause and cheers, Xbox head Phil Spencer announced at the E3 that they will start allowing Xbox 360 titles to run on the Xbox One console.

Head of platform engineering Mike Ybarra explains that the Xbox One backward compatibility will allow Xbox 360 titles to run exactly as they do in the Xbox One console, but will give the user a better experience because it takes advantage of Xbox Live features such as game streaming, multiplayer, and screenshot. He also adds that players won’t be charged for games they already own from the older console.

As of today, an initial set of Xbox 360 titles are already available through the Xbox One backward compatibility feature. By holiday this year, Xbox One backward compatibility will already be available to everyone.

Just before everything gets crazy I wanted to send out a note that this day is about you, the Xbox community. Thanks for everything. #xboxe3

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) June 15, 2015

Another huge announcement by Microsoft at the E3 press event today is the launch of Xbox Game Preview, an early gaming access feature that is exclusive on Xbox One. The Xbox One game preview will enable gamers to preview and play games while they are still on active development, allowing users to have a huge say on the final product. The games in the program will feature free trials which users can download and then they would have the option to purchase the game or drop it.

Starting today, as announced at the E3, titles The Long Dark and Elite Dangerous will be available in Xbox One via the early gaming access program.

Apart from the official announcement of Halo 5: Guardians, Microsoft also announced at the E3 a stunning lineup of titles exclusive for Xbox One and Windows 10.

Ubisoft’s president Laurent Detoc was invited on the Xbox stage at the E3 and announced Dark Souls III to release in 2016 and another Tom Clancy special, Tom Clancy’s The Division. Exclusive to Xbox One users is their exclusive beta in December this year.

Rainbow Six: Siege was also confirmed by Ubisoft this coming October 13. It was also announced at the E3 that via the Xbox One backward compatibility, Rainbow Six Vegas 1 and 2 will come free for Xbox One users who will purchase Rainbow Six: Siege.

Another huge title coming exclusive to Xbox One announced at the E3 today came as a surprise to everyone. Microsoft’s secret project, Gears 4, is the fourth installment to the phenomenal and award-winning franchise Gears of War. Microsoft’s presentation ended with a huge bang as they closed their E3 press event with the Gears 4 announcement, complete with an exciting playthrough that features two new protagonists.

Microsoft’s E3 presentation was filled to brim with goodies and exclusive titles, such as The Rise of the Tomb Raider coming November 10, Rare Replay in August, Fable Legends, and Forza Motorsport 6 on September 15.

Apart from these huge upcoming Xbox titles announced at the E3, Microsoft also fronted their new program, ID@Xbox, which brings thousands of independently-developed game titles to Xbox One and Windows 10 such as Goat Simulator, Ashen, Tacoma,Beyond Eyes, and Cuphead.

[Images from Microsoft’s E3 2015 Press Event]