Microsoft will not close the Xbox 360 Digital Store, the company told The Verge, although wording on an official Xbox support page indicates that was the plan.
Earlier in the week, Microsoft said it would pull many beloved games like Jet Set Radio and The Orange Box from the Xbox 360 store on February 7th. That was disappointing enough, but then, thanks to a tweet from Wario64, we saw that text on a support page said that the company planned to close the digital store “in the next year” and that it encouraged gamers to “buy any 360 games or DLCs until May 2023.”
Xbox Support search page says that Xbox 360 Marketplace will be closed over the next year and encourages to buy any 360 games or DLC by May 2023. Clicking the link shows the Feb 7th games list/article though. https://t.co/BPWm1dXGuChttps://t.co/rqczYHn87W pic.twitter.com/CAwVkOz41P
— Wario64 (@Wario64) February 2, 2023
This message was in error, according to Bree Adams, Xbox’s global product marketing manager.
This message was posted in error and we can confirm that the Xbox 360 Store will not be closed in May 2023.
As a reminder, effective February 7, 2023, a limited set of games, add-ons, and game content will no longer be purchasable in select markets through the Xbox 360 Store.
Still, the possibility of a shutdown highlights the ephemeral nature of digital stores; if you don’t buy a game before a platform maker decides to pull it or close the store, you’ll have to find another way to play.
That said, we’ll still be missing out on a classic store soon: the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS eShops will close on March 27th, meaning gamers only have a few weeks to ensure they get digital copies of games on the platforms they want.
Do you think the Xbox 360 Store has its days numbered?
