Gaming Console 101

Can Xbox One Play with Xbox Series X?

Can Xbox One Play with Xbox Series X featured 2

One of the very common questions that gamers migrating to a newer console almost always ask is if it will be compatible with older consoles.

Gamers particularly want to find out if they will be able to do play with their friends online that still haven’t migrated to a new console. The question here is, of course, about the feasibility of cross-play on Xbox Series X and whether can Xbox One play with Xbox Series X.

Fortunately, the answer to this question is a resounding yes. Xbox One players can certainly play with Xbox Series X gamers.

In the following text, I will further detail both the backward compatibility as well as the cross-play aspect of Xbox Series X.

Cross-Play: What Does it Mean?

Can Xbox One Play with Xbox Series X

Before I dive deeper into the nitty gritty details of the topic, let me clear the terminology here. When we ask “Can Xbox One Play with Xbox Series X?”, the question actually pertains to a feature called Cross-Play in general.

Cross-Play refers to a gamer’s ability to play a game with other players regardless of what platform they are on.

For instance, this could refer to the Xbox Series X’s ability to crossplay between PC, the older gen consoles like Xbox One as well as between their rival consoles, PlayStation.

While for those who love single-player campaigns and story modes, Cross-Play does not mean much, but for those who love multiplayer and wish to play with their friends with different consoles or platforms, Cross-Play ability matters a lot.

So Can Xbox One Play with Xbox Series X?

The good news, as mentioned earlier, is that Xbox One can certainly play with Xbox Series X and vice versa.

Of course, the specific details of whether cross-play is supported between these two platforms depend upon the game itself.

However, in the vast majority of cases, Xbox One players can cross-play with their Xbox Series X games.

This is because Xbox Series X is comprehensively backward compatible with almost ALL Xbox One games. Hence it natively supports older gen games.

Factors Affecting Cross-Play

Despite the solid foundation provided by Microsoft, the implementation of cross-play between Xbox One and Xbox Series X ultimately rests on the game developers.

They decide whether to enable this feature in their games. Factors such as game mechanics, performance, and server capabilities often influence this decision.

Therefore, while the infrastructure exists for cross-play between Xbox One and Xbox Series X, it is not a guaranteed feature for all games.

There are a few famous outliers, however, that do not support cross-play as listed below:

  • Battlefield 2042
  • Enlisted

But these gamers are only a few. Generally, the cross-play is supported for almost all games between Xbox One and Series X.

Also Read: Can You Play PC Games on Xbox Series X?

Disabling Cross-Play

While the ability to play with friends on different consoles is undeniably a feature many wish for, Xbox Series X and Xbox One also offer you the ability to disable this feature if you so wish.

Reasons can range from wanting to compete against players on the same platform to concerns about gameplay balance, as different console generations might offer varying levels of performance.

This is of particular concern when the cross-play is supported between PC players. PC players with their keyboard and mouse can wreck console players sometimes.

The following video gives a detailed explanation on how to disable cross-play for Xbox Series X:

It should be noted, however, that disabling cross-play can result in longer matchmaking times since the pool of potential players gets reduced.

Also Read: Does the Xbox Series X Have a Disc Drive?

Final Words

So the answer to the question “Can Xbox One play with Xbox Series X” is affirmative. However, for a full list of cross-play supported games, check out the article on Windows Central.

Atif Qazi

Atif Qazi is the founder of GamingConsole101.com and a huge gaming nerd. Thanks to the vast gaming experience under his belt, you can often find him writing detailed pieces of content on gaming hardware and console. But in all honesty, nothing gives him more pleasure than 'one-shotting' everyone as a stealth archer in ESO: Skyrim.

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