Many big announcements and reveals came out of The Game Awards 2019 ceremony last week, but perhaps the most surprising to happen was the unveiling of the next Xbox console, Xbox Series X. The news excited many about a next-generation Xbox promising to be the most powerful gaming console when compared to its contemporary rivals. The Xbox Series X reveal last week was quite exciting, but its presence left many questions about its features. Now, Microsoft has confirmed that Xbox Series X backwards compatibility will be offered at the system’s launch.

Several Microsoft representatives recently spoke with GameSpot about the Xbox Series X, with Xbox head Phil Spencer confirming all four generations of Xbox will be playable on day one of the console’s launch. This means that every previous Xbox console–including Xbox One, Xbox 360 and the original Xbox–will have games from their respective libraries available to play on the new console’s launch day. In regards to Microsoft’s reasoning for prioritizing backwards compatibility, Xbox partner director of program management Jason Ronald stated:

“We have thousands of games that run on Xbox One today. We want those games to be able to come forward with you but we also want your services to come with you. We want your gaming legacy to come with you, whether that’s your Gamerscore, whether that’s your friends list, all your Achievements, your game saves, all of that should come forward so there are no barriers for you as you think about moving forward.”

Microsoft also suggests that making such compatibility functional, even for Xbox One games on the Series X, has been quite a challenge. “It is a new chip architecture.” Ronald says, “At the same time, we did design the silicon with [backwards] compatibility in mind, so we did make certain decisions to try to lessen that work, but I don’t want to trivialize how much work the team’s actually doing because there is a tremendous amount of work.”

Xbox One X backwards compatibility sounds like an incredible feat, one that is certain to be appreciated by veteran Xbox devotees. Impressive offerings such as these might provide the big push the Xbox Series X needs to be X-ceptional compared to its competitors in the next generation.

Are you guys excited to hear that Xbox Series X backwards compatibility will be available at launch? Let us know in the comments below! Be sure to stay tuned for the latest Xbox news, such as Untitled Goose Game being confirmed for release this month on Xbox One, here on Don’t Feed the Gamers! Follow us on Twitter to see our updates the minute they go live!