Fans of the very recently retro have something to cheer about with the long awaited return of the Xbox Backwards Compatibility program. Two MK titles from the 360 line-up have been added in the Xbox 20th Anniversary update, led by the Mortal Kombat reboot, which itself marked its 10th anniversary in April.

The ambiguously titled 2011 reboot rewrote reality as we knew it in the first Mortal Kombat game released under Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment. It revamped, redesigned, and recontextualized material from the original trilogy -- redefining kombat for a new generation of players, in the process. Backwards compatibility means you'll be able to rediscover it all over again on Xbox Series X & S -- but you'll need to get your hands on a disc copy, for now.

MK2011 built upon a foundation laid three years earlier by the more controversial crossover title: Mortal Kombat versus DC Universe. It is the other kombat klassic supported in Xbox's final 76 game backwards compatibility update, which also includes three Dead Or Alive games, Quake Arena Arcade, and Ridger Racer 6. A complete list was reported by The Verge.

First revealed in a Mortal Kombat Online exclusive; the DC Comics crossover sent shockwaves throughout the fanbase even before it was known the eighth installment would need compromised finishing moves.

The troubled fighter fell short of many expectations, including the developers, who had plans to add Quan Chi and Harley Quinn to the modest playable roster, but its infamy may make it the more interesting excavation for nostalgic gamers.

The legacy of Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe continues to be found in NetherRealm Studios' latest releases. It was the first time they tackled the DC Injustice roster, and also pioneered the return to a 2D plane for fighting, and chapter based story modes. It was even the first time the developer worked on DLC -- even though it was never released!

[Related Article: Editorial: The MKvsDC Crossover Nobody Sees Coming]

Recent third-party data leaks have fueled rumors of a third Injustice game, while Creative Director Ed Boon recently started celebrating next year's Mortal Kombat 30th Anniversary early. Could more retro re-releases be in our future?

Share your thoughts about the Xbox 20th Anniversary Backwards Compatibility patch with us in the comments below, and reconnect with the recent past in the Mortal Kombat (2011) forum! Or crossover into another world in the DC Universe Injustice forum!