Key Takeaways
- The Xbox 360 Store is to close from July 29, 2024, affecting all digital purchases.
- Many games will be discounted before the store’s closure, with more sale prices added over the coming weeks.
- Online play and updates will still function on Xbox 360 after store closure, with Xbox Live active for multiplayer.
After almost 20 years, Microsoft is officially closing the Xbox 360 storefront. After July 29, 2024, you will no longer be able to purchase games on your vintage 360. Here’s what that means.
The Xbox 360 Store Is Closing
You won’t be able to spend money on the Xbox 360 Store or Xbox 360 Marketplace from July 24, 2024. If you want to own a game specifically to play on your Xbox 360, you’ll need to buy it before this date using your console. Used copies that you find on disc will continue to work just fine.
Microsoft’s announcement only affects the purchasing of digital titles on the Xbox 360, which means that as long as you own a game (or another item, like an add-on) you’ll still be able to download it from your Download History (under Settings > Account) after this date.
Since everything was made available via the store, the shutdown will affect a huge variety of items from games and trials to add-ons, avatar items, gamerpics, trailers, and apps for non-games. In-game purchases, subscriptions, and video content in the Movies & TV app will also be pulled from sale.
Many Games Are Discounted Right Now
The closure of the store means that many games, add-ons, and other items will no longer be accessible on the Xbox 360 console. As a result, many of these games (and others) are currently on deep sale on the storefront.
TrueAchievements has a full list of games that are currently on sale, with more being added each week. Expect more discounts before the store closes for good.
Some games like Army of Two and its sequels The 40th Day and The Devil’s Cartel never saw releases outside of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena met a similar fate, though PC and Mac ports were available.
Delisted Games has a list of 47 titles that never saw release anywhere else (not even the PlayStation 3), that will officially be “lost forever” on July 29. Most of these are obscure indie titles, but there are some big names in there like Fruit Ninja Kinect, Xbox Live Arcade exclusive two South Park games, and forgettable arcade port Double Dragon II: Wander of the Dragons.
Online Play and Updates Are Unaffected
Game updates will still work on the Xbox 360 after the store is shut down, both for digital titles and disc-based titles. You’ll need to sign in and connect to online services for this to work.
Xbox Live will also still be active, so you can play online for as long as the servers for your chosen games are still up.
Microsoft still requires a premium subscription to play online on the Xbox 360. This was once called Xbox Live Gold but is now known as Game Pass Core. It’ll set you back $9.99/month, just like Xbox Live Gold once did. If you have a Game Pass subscription for another console (like the Xbox One, or Series X|S), you can play on your Xbox 360 simply by signing in.
The End of an Era
The Xbox 360 arguably represents Microsoft’s finest hour in console gaming. While many games of the era are playable via backward compatibility on modern Xbox consoles, available in disc form, or are playable elsewhere; many games, add-ons, and in-game items are not.
If you still have an Xbox 360 plugged in somewhere, perhaps as a fallback bedroom entertainment system, now’s the time to grab any titles you might want to play in the near future. Prefer discs? Thrift stores are a goldmine for physical media from this era.
