Microsoft has promised that hundreds of games designed for its older Xbox 360 will work on its newer Xbox One console, starting with a handful of titles this year.
It has also showed off how its HoloLens headset can be used to play Minecraft via hologram on a coffee table.
The presentation has kicked off Microsoft's presence at E3, the annual video game conference that draws thousands of bloggers, gamers and journalists from around the world.
In addition, the company showed footage of Xbox One games coming this holiday season, including Halo 5: Guardians, with multiplayer support for 24 players, up from 16 for the previous installment.
And it announced Gears of War 4 would be available exclusively to its platform next year.
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The announcements come as Microsoft attempts to catch up from being behind in the console wars.
It said in April it had sold 10 million Xbox One units since launch in November 2013.
In contrast, Sony says that by March, it had sold 22.3 million PlayStation 4s, which launched the same month.
