Xbox Fans Say Goodbye to 360 Marketplace as Microsoft Shuts Down 19-Year-Old Store – IGN

Xbox fans are saying goodbye to the Xbox 360 Marketplace, which is closing today nearly 19 years after its launch.

The Xbox 360 Marketplace launched online alongside the Xbox 360 in November 2005, bringing with it a storefront that would become familiar to a generation of gamers.

Microsoft shut down the Xbox 360 Marketplace today, July 29, not only marking the end of an era and the true end of the Xbox 360, but also making it impossible to purchase a long list of video games and add-ons that were exclusive to the digital store. That list includes titles like Aegis Wing, Meteos Wars, and Crimson Alliance.

Fans took to social media to reminisce about the Xbox 360 Marketplace, including former Microsoft employee Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb, who for years wrote about sales and updates for the Xbox 360 Marketplace and became the face of Xbox to many fans.

“Almost 19 years later, all good things must come to an end,” Hryb tweeted. “I’ve had the pleasure of sharing the thousands of sales and updates I’ve made on the Marketplace over the years. Thanks for having fun, playing fair, and leaving your feedback.”

Major Nelson at E3 2018. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Major Nelson at E3 2018. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Others went on a final spending spree, buying games and DLC destined to disappear from sale forever.

It should be noted that despite this ruling, you can Re-download previously owned titles and DLC, purchase backwards compatible games from the Xbox One and Series Store, and continue playing online on Xbox 360. This means that only games not available via backwards compatibility on Xbox One/Series and Xbox 360-era content such as avatars, icons, and themes are permanently removed.

Alas, the evangelists of digital preservation are once again right.

Before the shutdown, Microsoft-owned video game developer Double Fine offered Xbox 360 owners free digital codes for Kinect Party, the sequel to Happy Action Theater. The developer of Psychonauts and Brütal Legend warned Xbox 360 players to download all games before the shutdown. Since Kinect for Xbox 360 is not supported by later Xbox hardware, Kinect Party is one of the games lost forever in the shutdown.

And in response to concerns from some that Microsoft’s closure of the Xbox 360 store would have a significant impact on video game preservation, Double Fine tweeted: “Alas, the digital preservation evangelists are right once again.”

Twitter user @Kalyoshika provided a helpful list of video games that didn’t survive the shutdown, including The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai, Death Tank, and Diabolical Pitch.

Do you have any fond memories of the Xbox 360 Marketplace? Did you buy something at the last minute before it was gone forever? Let us know in the comments.

Photography by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Wesley is IGN’s UK News Editor. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can contact Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or in confidence at wyp100@proton.me.