The Xbox 360 store will close in 2024, but you can still play and buy games

Microsoft has announced the Xbox 360 store closurea decision that is communicated now but that will not take effect until next year: an exact date has been set for the cessation of service, the July 29, 2024. From that day on, it will no longer be possible to buy digital games from these consoles, as well as DLC and extra content. Video and TV applications will also stop working on Xbox 360 from that day on.

Of course, from the company they have wanted to reassure the Xbox community: all the games purchased can continue to be played as before, and also Xbox 360 games can still be purchased from the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S stores, as well as from the store’s official website, to play them on modern consoles through backward compatibility.

It has also been confirmed that Xbox 360 games will continue to have online functionality as long as the publishers maintain the servers. This means that the closure of the store does not affect multiplayer modes, neither on the original nor on current consoles. The games of classic games that are uploaded in the cloud will not be affected either, a function that we can continue to use even after the store closes.

Other digital video game stores that have recently closed

The Xbox 360 store is not the only digital video game store that ceases its activity. This same year there has been the Closure of Nintendo 3DS and WiiU digital stores, a decision that has led many exclusive digital games on these platforms. That is something that will also happen with some products on Xbox 360, because although the list of backward compatible games and DLC on Xbox One and Xbox Series X / S is long, it does not cover absolutely the entire catalog of the original console.

On the other hand, Sony also tried to close the PS3 and PS Vita stores, but the community protested so much that the company finally had to back down. Of course, today they work with limitations: direct payments cannot be made from said consoles, but must be purchased through the web or modern consoles (PS5 and PS4).