Microsoft released a popular video game on the Xbox One — and then took it back (MSFT)

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Microsoft briefly made "Red Dead Redemption," an open-world adventure game set in the Wild West, backwards compatible with the Xbox One, according to Polygon. 

Microsoft has been testing backwards compatibility with Xbox games on the Xbox One over the past few months. Backwards compatibility means that games made for the Xbox 360, which preceded the One, will work without any changes.

The feature is a big bonus for gamers and encourages people to upgrade to the Xbox One, which Microsoft wants. 

"Microsoft tests all Xbox 360 games with our emulator to ensure a quality experience across a breadth of titles," said Major Nelson, the director of Xbox Live programming, in a comment on Reddit. "Due to an error some of the games currently in test were accidentally made available." 

Microsoft built an emulator into the Xbox One that lets it run 360 games, making it easier for developers to include the feature. However, there is still an extra level of work required and so it's up to publishers and developers to decide if games will be backwards compatible. 

A forum post on Microsoft's website asks users to rank which games they want next. "Red Dead Redemption" has received over 129,000 votes, placing it third behind "Skyrim" and "Call of Duty: Black Ops." 

Microsoft also accidentally made several other games — "Halo Wars," "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night," and "Tekken Tag Tournament 2" — backwards compatible.

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