Xbox Series X: Phil Spencer Discusses How "Tons" Of Games Are Already Backwards Compatible With Console

Microsoft's next console won't release until late in 2020, but Xbox boss Phil Spencer already has the Xbox Series X set up as his primary console at home. Now, in a new interview, he's shared exactly what he's using it for on a daily basis, and described just how well backwards compatibility is working.

The simple answer is testing--Spencer explained during an appearance on Gamertag Radio that having the Series X as a daily driver allows him to share his experience with the rest of the team at Microsoft, allowing them to tweak as they push towards production. The whole reason for highlighting that he had the hardware was to the work that has been done already.

"Relative to the Xbox One--the first codename for that was Durango back in the original days--we are so far ahead in terms of when we have take home [consoles] and this thing being in the home," Spencer explained. "That's why I tweeted it out, because the team has just done such incredible work to get us into a position where this far ahead of launch we're actually at home and I can actually use it as a primary console"

"It's obviously quite a bit faster than the Xbox One," added Spencer when referring to the Series X's UI. "And even sometimes when things run a little bit faster there's some UI things that you need to be aware of."

On top of standard usage, Spencer explained that he's part of the process in compiling a list of games currently compatible with the Series X. It's expected to play all Xbox One titles as well as its supported list of Xbox 360 games, so part of Spencer's testing is booting up numerous different ones and seeing if they currently work. Considering anyone can see what he's currently playing, it's easy to tell which have passed the test.

"I'm trying it. It's in active development, sometimes it reboots. Not all the games today are completely compatible. We're working through our list of approved games on it. You can see what I'm playing; there's tons of games that work," Spencer said.

Even in this early state, Spencer allude to some performance enhancements that the Xbox Series X shows purely because of the hardware it's using. Loading times, for example, will be immediately affected by its use of SSD technology--something which doesn't need work to show its benefits.

"If I load a little faster into my Destiny strike than you, that's maybe my box," Spencer adding jokingly.

The Xbox Series X is expected to launch later this year, with Microsoft already confirming that it won't have strict exclusives for the foreseeable future.