Microsoft have come out with a surprising announcement today during their E3 conference, revealing that from thus Autumn the Xbox One will be backwards compatible with Xbox 360 games, meaning it can play your old Xbox 360 games. Preview members will be able to try out the system right now.

The service will be free and will support 100 titles at launch, including the original Mass Effect which presumably means the entire trilogy will be playable, with more to be added. apparently all developers will need to do is approve their game for backwards compatibility as no extra development will be needed.

Digital titles will show up automatically, or you can put in your retail disc to verify ownership. However, you do seemingly need to download the game, even if you’re using a disc. Huh.

Considering that a lack of backwards compatibility was a major gripe when the Xbox One was first announce this is a pretty big deal for Microsoft, and may help encourage people who have not upgraded to do so.