Xbox One Backward Compatibility: New Game Addition Sparks 'Call Of Duty' Inquiries

Point your browser to the Xbox One Backward Compatibility Program and you’ll see that four out of the top five most requested titles are from the "Call of Duty" series. No surprise there. "Call of Duty: Black Ops II" sits at the top of the list, so why has Microsoft not yet made this title backward compatible with Xbox One gaming console? As GameSpot reports, no matter how wildly popular a game title may be on the Xbox One Backwards Compatibility list, nothing is certain.

On Tuesday, director of programming for Xbox Live, Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb announced the arrival of a new Xbox One Backward Compatibility game, “Word Puzzle.” While Hryb’s announcement received a lackluster reception, some would argue that any game that makes it to Xbox One backward compatibility status is a win. Although “Word Puzzle” received 203 votes under the Backward Compatibility Program, its announcement moves us one step closer to seeing larger titles.

Someday in the not-so-distant future we may hear that the 109,989 Xbox Backward Compatibility top vote earning "Call of Duty: Black Ops II" is in the catalog. Or we may not. When asked about the backward compatibility status of wildly popular "Call of Duty Lego" and "Unreal Tournament," head of Xbox, Phil Spencer offered a beacon hope. The takeaway from Spencer’s Tweet is that games receive backward compatibility status when ready as opposed to a schedule. Popularity means nothing when it comes to which games are chosen.

Completing the top five most requested game titles on the Xbox One Compatibility Program list are The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. New games expected to be added to the backward compatibility catalog are Skate 3, BioShock, BioShock 2, and BioShock Infinite.