Old Xbox 360 games will be playable on the newer Xbox One console, Microsoft has announced at the E3 games show.

It has developed technology that lets the older games run on the new console "natively".

Microsoft said Xbox One owners will not have to pay again to play the games that they already owned.

100 titles will be available to play when the feature launches at Christmas but "hundreds" more will be available soon after.

The titles will show up automatically in a player's games library when they became available, it said.

The press conference also saw Bethesda Studios give some details about the version of Fallout 4 it is creating for the Microsoft's console.

Player-made add-ons, or mods, for the PC version of the game will be able to run on the Xbox One as well, said Todd Howard, game director at Bethesda.

Also announced was a version of Minecraft that has been revamped to run on Microsoft's augmented reality headset HoloLens. The new version turns the flat world into an interactive environment that can be explored in depth. Owners of the original game will be able to join in multiplayer Minecraft sessions seen via the HoloLens.

Microsoft bought Minecraft maker Mojang in October 2014 for $1.5bn (£1bn).

The press conference also saw Microsoft announce a partnership with game maker Valve on its virtual reality headset system. No details were given about what will emerge from the tie-up. The announcement comes only days after Microsoft revealed a deal with Oculus to use an Xbox controller as the navigation system in that VR system.

BBC News