The Xbox 360 was Microsoft’s first Xbox console to support the HD DVD format through an add-on player.
Microsoft released the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player in 2006 as an external USB accessory. It allowed the console to play high-definition HD DVD movies while leaving the standard Xbox 360 game disc drive unchanged. The accessory was sold separately rather than built into the console.
HD DVD competed with Sony-backed Blu-ray during the high-definition optical-disc format war. Both formats offered more capacity than standard DVDs and supported high-definition film releases. HD DVD lost that competition after major studios and retailers shifted toward Blu-ray, and Toshiba ended the format in 2008.
The Xbox 360 itself continued using DVD discs for games. The later Xbox One adopted Blu-ray for retail games and films, making the Xbox 360 HD DVD player a notable but short-lived piece of Xbox media history.