Xbox Game Pass Has Finally Addressed Its Lack of Retro Games

Until now, Xbox Game Pass has been sorely lacking in retro games. There are no titles for the original Xbox on the service, and only a scant few Xbox 360 games. There are a few games from earlier eras, like Goldeneye 007, but even those are rereleases. Since most older games don’t get that kind of treatment, they’re ultimately still few and far between on Xbox Game Pass. But now, finally, Microsoft is doing something to address this gap, bringing a new “Retro Classics” collection to its subscribers.

While Activision might be better known these days for Call of Duty, back in the ‘80s, it got its start developing games for Atari consoles. When Microsoft’s merger with Activision was completed in 2023, it gained access to all those old games, and it seems like they will make up the majority of the Retro Classics line on Xbox Game Pass—though Microsoft does say it’s getting some help for the line from partner game streaming service Antstream Arcade, so who knows where it will go in the future. In the meantime, while Retro Classics might sound akin to Nintendo’s Switch Online library, expect more "Pitfall Harry" than "Super Mario." In other words, they're going the oldest of old school here.

That’s a bit of a bummer to me. While I appreciate a good vintage title, most Atari-era games tend to come across more as novelties to me in 2025, and don't really hold up for more than a few minutes of play at a time. That said, there are a few slightly newer games thrown in there too, like the first two MechWarrior titles.

I’d still give PlayStation Plus and Nintendo Switch Online the edge over Xbox when it comes to retro games, but that skepticism aside, this is still a nice start. Retro Classics is launching with about 60 games, with plans to add more Activision and even Blizzard titles over time, eventually landing around what Microsoft says will be “100+ titles.”

That last note is promising: Activision’s later titles include games like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and since no Warcraft or Starcraft titles are currently on Game Pass, there’s plenty of room for Retro Classics to grow appreciably down the road.