The Xbox 360 Marketplace holds fond memories for those who were fans of Microsoft‘s second console. However, sad news has come to us all, as the old storefront has officially been shut down as of today.
The Xbox 360 dies once more
In a post on Xbox Wire from last August, Microsoft announced it would be shutting down the Xbox 360 Marketplace on July 29, 2024, having been active for 19 years. Well, that day has finally arrived, which means if you still have the system, you won’t be able to purchase anything digitally as of now.
A report from IGN points to a series of fans who spent the past weekend getting in some last minute buys before the storefront was closed down for good. A rather lamentable post from Larry Hryb – the Director of Community at Unity – shared his pleasure in having been part of the 360’s Marketplace sales and updates over the years.
However, this won’t stop you from playing games on the aged console. The Xbox Wire post from last year does say that you’ll still be able to play games and DLC that had already been purchased for the 360. It just means that further purchases are no longer possible.
Despite being only the second-generation console from Microsoft – going up against PlayStation’s third – the Xbox 360 was able to hold its own in an increasingly competitive market for several years.
The system was responsible for bringing us such hits as Halo 3 – one of the biggest-selling games of its generation – as well as birthing the Gears of War series. The console itself was officially discontinued in 2016, so the Xbox 360 Marketplace now being shuttered feels like it’s dead all over again. No doubt many will miss the storefront, but it is just one of the tragedies of the video games industry looking to keep moving forward.
