diff --git a/arroyo/backends/kafka/commit.py b/arroyo/backends/kafka/commit.py
index acdcad56..d28f183f 100644
--- a/arroyo/backends/kafka/commit.py
+++ b/arroyo/backends/kafka/commit.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import json
 from datetime import datetime
 from typing import Optional
 
@@ -6,6 +7,8 @@
 from arroyo.types import Partition, Topic
 from arroyo.utils.codecs import Codec
 
+# Kept in decode method for backward compatibility. Will be
+# remove in a future release of Arroyo
 DATETIME_FORMAT = "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.%fZ"
 
 
@@ -28,7 +31,7 @@ def encode(self, value: Commit) -> KafkaPayload:
             ],
         )
 
-    def decode(self, value: KafkaPayload) -> Commit:
+    def decode_legacy(self, value: KafkaPayload) -> Commit:
         key = value.key
         if not isinstance(key, bytes):
             raise TypeError("payload key must be a bytes object")
@@ -53,3 +56,30 @@ def decode(self, value: KafkaPayload) -> Commit:
             offset,
             orig_message_ts,
         )
+
+    def decode(self, value: KafkaPayload) -> Commit:
+        key = value.key
+        if not isinstance(key, bytes):
+            raise TypeError("payload key must be a bytes object")
+
+        val = value.value
+        if not isinstance(val, bytes):
+            raise TypeError("payload value must be a bytes object")
+
+        payload = val.decode("utf-8")
+
+        if payload.isnumeric():
+            return self.decode_legacy(value)
+
+        decoded = json.loads(payload)
+        offset = decoded["offset"]
+        orig_message_ts = datetime.fromtimestamp(decoded["orig_message_ts"])
+
+        topic_name, partition_index, group = key.decode("utf-8").split(":", 3)
+
+        return Commit(
+            group,
+            Partition(Topic(topic_name), int(partition_index)),
+            offset,
+            orig_message_ts,
+        )
diff --git a/tests/backends/test_commit.py b/tests/backends/test_commit.py
index 59e12614..2e1d958d 100644
--- a/tests/backends/test_commit.py
+++ b/tests/backends/test_commit.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 from datetime import datetime
 
 from arroyo.backends.kafka.commit import CommitCodec
+from arroyo.backends.kafka import KafkaPayload
 from arroyo.commit import Commit
 from arroyo.types import Partition, Topic
 
@@ -21,3 +22,9 @@ def test_encode_decode() -> None:
     encoded = commit_codec.encode(commit)
 
     assert commit_codec.decode(encoded) == commit
+
+def test_decode_legacy() -> None:
+    legacy = KafkaPayload(b"topic:0:leader-a", b"5", [('orig_message_ts', b'2023-09-26T21:58:14.191325Z')])
+    decoded = CommitCodec().decode(legacy)
+    assert decoded.offset == 5
+    assert decoded.group == "leader-a"