Xbox fans are waving goodbye to the Xbox 360 Marketplace, which is shutting down today nearly 19 years after its launch.
The Xbox 360 Marketplace hit the Internet alongside the Xbox 360 in November 2005, and brought with it a storefront that would become familiar to a generation of gamers.
Microsoft is shutting 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 impossible a long list of video games and add-ons that were exclusive to the digital Buy store. This list includes the likes of 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” Hrib, who for years wrote sales posts and updates about the Xbox 360 Marketplace and became the face of Xbox for so many fans .
“Almost 19 years later, all good things must come to an end,” Grieb tweeted. “It has been my pleasure to share all the thousands of sales and market updates I have given over the years. Thanks for having fun, playing fair, and providing feedback.”
This is the last weekend for the Xbox 360 Marketplace.
If you don’t buy in the last 2 days, you’ll lose your chance forever. The end of an era for my favorite 7th gen system. pic.twitter.com/tqZo06NFXx
— Clement (@ClementJ64) July 27, 2024
Xbox 360 Marketplace pic.twitter.com/ereYEXaLCs
— no context nostalgia (@nostalgiaooc) July 28, 2024
Before the market closes on Monday, here’s a showcase of my latest digital library for the Xbox 360. I’ll still be collecting physical games, but it’s sad to see support for my childhood console finally dropped. pic.twitter.com/J9or5CPrcX
— Batty (@battybuh) July 27, 2024
The Xbox 360 market closed for good today pic.twitter.com/0P6ADFDjCs
— Buster (@bustershii) July 29, 2024
Others have made one last spree, buying games and DLC that will disappear from sale forever.
I was able to get every MLG Picture Pack before the Xbox 360 Marketplace shut down.
The end of an era. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/1K2yovII7a
— Eric Hewitt / Ghost (@GH057ayame) July 28, 2024
WARNING: TONIGHT IS THE LAST NIGHT YOU CAN GET THE SOUR BILL AVATAR T-SHIRT FOR $1 FROM THE XBOX 360 MARKETPLACE, THIS IS NO JOKE pic.twitter.com/qRdsg4SKZr
— TheRayReviewer (@RayReviewer) July 28, 2024
Xbox 360 Marketplace is closing. Snoop Dogg’s video game will be lost forever.
Talk less, my man pic.twitter.com/kcJGyntupq
— GNARFIELD (@Nintendont_64) July 28, 2024
It is worth noting that despite this exclusion, you i can re-download previously owned titles and DLC, buy backwards compatible games from the Xbox One and Series storefront and continue playing online on Xbox 360. So only games not available via Xbox One / Series backwards compatibility and content from the era of Xbox 360 like avatars, icons and themes are gone forever.
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 that they should download any games before the shutdown. Since the Xbox 360 Kinect is not supported by the next Xbox hardware, Kinect Party is one of the games lost forever amid this shutdown.
And amid concerns from some quarters that Microsoft’s shutdown of the Xbox 360 Marketplace will have a significant impact on video game preservation, Double Fine tweeted: “Alas, digital storage evangelists have been proven right again.”
X/Twitter user @Kalyoshika provided a helpful list of video games that didn’t survive the shutdown. It includes the likes of The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai, Death Tank, and Diabolical Pitch.
Okay, okay, people want it, so here it is. The Xbox 360 Store will be de-orbited on July 29th, 2024, so I’ve written a non-exhaustive thread here about a few interesting games/DLC that won’t survive*. Some are for sale, some… are not for sale.🧵 pic.twitter.com/a8Mn2pIX09
— KaL (@Kalyoshika) July 24, 2024
Do you have fond memories of the Xbox 360 Marketplace? Did you buy something at the last minute before it was lost forever? Let us know in the comments.
Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
Wesley is the UK news editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can contact Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or privately at wyp100@proton.me.
