Xbox Playback is here to show your whole Xbox history
Xbox Playback shows your first Xbox game, total play time and more across 25 years. Here's how to watch it on console or the web before December 31.
13th Nov 2026 13:45
Image via Xbox
Xbox Playback is here to show your whole Xbox history
Xbox Playback shows your first Xbox game, total play time and more across 25 years. Here's how to watch it on console or the web before December 31.
13th Nov 2026 13:45
Image via Xbox
Xbox has dug out the records for its 25th anniversary, and Xbox Playback, a look back at everything you've played on the platform, is now available on the web and, for the first time, on your console.
Announced on Xbox Wire on November 12, Xbox Playback takes over from the old Xbox Year in Review, but rather than covering the last 12 months it goes back across every generation, showing your first Xbox game, total time played, most-played game, top years, longest streak and more. Xbox says that covers everyone from OGs who started out on the famously chunky Duke controller to people who only booted up their first console this year, and it's available in 15 countries, including the US and UK, until December 31, 2026.
Press play on your Xbox history
There are two ways in, as you can either watch it on your console by looking for the Playback option on your dashboard, or sign in with your Xbox account on the Xbox Playback page at xbox.com/XBOXPlayback to watch your personalised video in a browser. Xbox says it's rolling out gradually, so don't panic if it isn't showing up for you straight away.
Once you've watched it, you can scan the QR code at the end of the console video or hit "share" on the web to grab a Playback card for social media, with Xbox asking players to use #XBOXPlayback. If you'd like to go further back, the Playback Archive on the web lets you dig through more of your history, including some of your first milestones and biggest achievements.
To qualify, your profile needs at least 1 Gamerscore, one achievement and one minute of qualifying gameplay, and you'll need at least a minute of gameplay on a console to see it there. Xbox also warns that Playback is based on available account data, so some of your history may be incomplete or take a while to appear (which might be a relief if you'd rather nobody found out how many hours went into one particular game).
The full list of countries is Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Poland, South Africa, Spain, the UK and the US.
Playback landed alongside a pile of other anniversary news, including 21 more original Xbox games arriving on PC through backward compatibility and achievements for four of them. If you fancy more of a trip down memory lane, we've worked out what every Xbox launch cost in today's money, and if you're more interested in what's next, Xbox's free, ad-supported cloud gaming is rolling out now too.
Well, it's a bit like Spotify Wrapped for your controller, just with fewer guilty-pleasure songs and, for some of us, a far scarier total for hours played.
About The Author
Chris Young
Chris Young runs things behind the scenes at GGRecon, keeping an eye on the codes, guides and news that keep the lights on. When he's off the clock you'll find him dropping into PUBG, shouting at FIFA (fine, EA FC), or losing an entire evening to a strategy game he swore would only be "one more turn". He's also counting down to GTA 6, and is probably playing it by the time you read this.
