Microsoft has dropped two new games in its bid to liven up its roster of backward compatible games, starting with classic big titles: "Mafia 2" and "Prey."

In a surprise announcement, director of programming for Xbox live Larry Hryb dropped the news on Twitter to the delight of thousands of unknowing fans.

"Mafia II and Prey are coming to Xbox One Backward Compatibility today," Hryb tweeted.

Fans who already own a physical copy of the game can simply place the disc inside the Xbox One console to start downloading and playing the game.

Meanwhile, users who have purchased the digital copy before need not worry as the games will automatically be made available in the Ready to Download section of My Games and Apps.

"Mafia 2" and "Prey" are both classic action games launched in the early 2000s.

"Mafia 2" is a third-person shooter set in the unruly and violence-stricken world of the mob. The game incorporates themes from its original counterpart "Mafia" but expands them through an open-world scenario which includes an assortment of game play. Its release was a mix of positive and negative reviews.

Eurogamer said "Mafia 2" is what 14-year-olds would imagine a mafia is. However, in the same sense, it is an insult to the many teenagers who could see through its guise to seem adult-like.

However, it is the opposite for "Prey," a sci-fi action game released in 2006 that tells the story of an alien-abducted Cherokee as he battles through the large alien fortress. It received a 7/10 from Eurogamer in its initial release.

Despite the high ranking, Eurogamer questioned how slow-paced and traditional the game was, discussing how it struggled to steer away from overused storyline twists. Lastly, they also pointed out that the game's good points failed to really overcome its own setbacks.

Both Xbox 360 titles can now be played on the latest Xbox console. This follows the release of Tom Clancy's action-packed stealth-adventure game "Splinter Cell: Conviction" in the Xbox backward compatibility program.