Following fan feedback, Xbox has fixed the multiplayer servers for the underrated Xbox 360 game from 2007 called Shadowrun. Since the release of the Xbox Series X/S, Xbox has remained dedicated to keeping the integrity of backward-compatible titles intact, a theme it is continuing with Shadowrun.
Harebrained Schemes released Shadowrun in 2007 as an online-only experience, something that was relatively uncommon at the time. Based on a tabletop series with the same name, fans of Shadowrun could pick between four playable races, the Human, Dwarf, Elf, and Troll, which all offered their own unique benefits in the untraditional FPS setting. Because it was relying on a persistent internet connection outside of matches against bots, this Xbox 360 title has fallen dormant in recent years as the Shadowrun series returned to its RPG roots.
Resetera user Wwm0nkey has stated that the Xbox "Mod Squad" team has fixed the matchmaking in this Shadowrun multiplayer. According to Wwm0nkey, the matchmaking was made worse when Microsoft adjusted the Call of Duty games which caused several Shadowrun fans to message the Xbox support team. Formerly operating on a peer-to-peer system, Shadowrun fans will now see matchmaking that "works better than it has ever worked in the history of the game," based on Wwm0nkey's experience. The Shadowrun FPS Discord server has over 2,000 dedicated members that were keeping the game alive ahead of this major adjustment.
Gamers that are interested in this optimization may want to give Shadowrun a chance, and the game is going for $9.99 on the Microsoft Store. Because Shadowrun is available to play on PC and Xbox Series X/S, it can be downloaded on modern hardware. Despite access to the FPS being questionable during the peer-to-peer years, the Xbox 360 version of Shadowrun maintains nearly a five-star rating on the marketplace. Before this online fix was pushed through, a game of Shadowrun could take up to 30 seconds to load, while the resolved matchmaking takes only a few moments.
On top of the backward-compatible Xbox 360 Shadowrun, Series X/S owners can also catch up on the series with Shadowrun Returns, Shadowrun Dragonfall, and Shadowrun Hong Kong. Because a similar adjustment resulted in an influx of Call of Duty players in Black Ops 2 and Modern Warfare 3, it may create a boom in the Shadowrun player count. Given that Microsoft has fixed this 16-year-old game's matchmaking, other games that lost their connectivity may be next in this push to make the backward compatible Xbox titles more playable.
Shadowrun is available now for PC and Xbox 360.
Source: Video Games Chronicle