Xbox, a few weeks after its controversial price hike, has returned with a few new updates to soothe the pain. The gaming company has paired up with online retro gaming platform Antstream Arcade to bring over 50 classic arcade games to members of its online game subscription tier, Game Pass.
Xbox dusts off old relics
Retro Classics titles are fully restored and ready to play, and while users can get free but limited access to the games through the Antstream site, Game Pass members can also access the games while staying within the ecosystem, with some perks thrown in, too.
Some of these include community challenges, competitive leaderboards, high-score rankings, and more. There are also new achievements for long-time enthusiasts, and the ability to save and reload, which Xbox calls “a first for many classic titles.”
This essentially gives these retro games the same level of active online community as a modern game, since, ordinarily, gamers would have to play these games in a closed system through emulators with no online infrastructure.
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Notable titles in the list include Commando, Grand Prix, Kaboom!, and Pitfall! Beyond giving the fans of these beloved games a community and a chance to be seen and played by a younger generation, this also goes a long way towards preserving timeless classics.
Anyone with a device with cloud gaming support can run Game Pass’s Retro Classics, be it a console, phone, PC, or tablet. Xbox also notes support for select LG and Samsung smart TVs, as well as Amazon Fire TV devices, and the Meta Quest. Unfortunately, Xbox still does not offer cloud streaming support locally, meaning gamers will have to make do with playing their Retro Classics from an Xbox console. Here’s hoping that changes, and soon.
The gaming company also promises additional contributions to Retro Classics, particularly from Activision and Blizzard, and looks to double the offerings to more than a hundred titles. To get started, a Game Pass subscription will set local gamers back at least R100/m for the Core tier, with more expensive tiers going as high as R200/m.
