The Xbox 360 Store Is Shutting Down Next Year

Xbox 360 splash

If you love your Xbox 360, and somehow still haven’t upgraded to an Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S, I have some terrible news for you: Microsoft is shutting down both the Xbox 360 Store and the Xbox 360 Marketplace. The shutdown isn’t due for a little under a year from now, but we thought we’d go through and explain what it means.

From July 29, 2024, you will no longer be able to purchase anything on the Xbox 360 Store or the Xbox 360 Marketplace. This includes games, paid DLC, movies, avatar items, trials, and more. If 360 games are available via backwards compatibility on the One and Series X|S, they’ll still be purchasable on those platforms, and if you do buy them on those platforms, you can then redownload them on 360 as well.

Unfortunately, if a game isn’t available via backwards compatibility, you won’t be able to buy it after the above date. Microsoft says it has no plans to release any more games or content as part of its backwards compatibility program, so if there are any games you desperately want, now is the time to buy them.

Any purchased content will remain downloadable for the foreseeable future, and there’s no reason to believe that Microsoft is going to turn that off anytime soon. If you have any gift cards that you haven’t redeemed before this point, you’ll have to do that on one of the more recent platforms, on a Windows PC, or on the web.

Another big loss for 360 fans is that Microsoft Movies & TV will be shutting down entirely on the console. You won’t be able to buy or watch anything from the service, no matter where or how you bought it, on your Xbox 360 console. Any purchases you’ve made will need to be watched on a One, Series X|S, or Windows 10 or later device.

You can see the full details of the decision on the official Xbox 360 Store Closure FAQ on the Xbox Support website.