Microsoft starts bringing original Xbox games to Windows PCs
An early preview adds four original Xbox titles to PC, with Game Pass access, graphics options and Windows 11 requirements.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
3 min read
Microsoft is opening a new PC path for older Xbox games, starting with four titles from the original Xbox era. The move matters because it extends Xbox backward compatibility beyond consoles and gives some existing digital owners another place to play games they already bought.
Microsoft said the early preview begins with Blinx: The Time Sweeper, Conker: Live and Reloaded, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge and Fuzion Frenzy. The company said each game can be bought and downloaded on PC, and all four are included across Xbox Game Pass plans.
Players who already have digital versions of those games can now run them on Windows PCs, according to Microsoft. The company also said the games will work on handheld devices including the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X.
PC features and requirements
Microsoft has added PC-specific settings while keeping the original games intact, according to the company. The options include VSync, resolution upscaling up to 4x, anisotropic filtering, improved anti-aliasing, fullscreen and windowed play, and other display controls.
Microsoft said achievements will be added to the four games in the coming months. The company also said each title will offer adjustable language and audio settings.
Microsoft lists Windows 11 as required for the PC versions. Its minimum hardware requirements are:
- GPU: Nvidia GTX 950, AMD Radeon RX 550, Intel UHD 770 or Intel Arc A310
- CPU: Intel Core i3-8100, AMD Ryzen 3 1200 or AMD Ryzen Z2 A Processor
- RAM: 8GB
For a better experience, Microsoft recommends a GTX 1070 Ti or comparable GPU and a six-core processor such as Intel’s Core i5-10400 or AMD’s Ryzen 5 3600.
A broader preservation push
Jason Ronald, Microsoft’s vice president of next generation at Xbox, described the PC preview as the start of a wider preservation effort. “This marks the beginning of a broader effort to preserve Xbox games from the past and bring them to PC over time,” Ronald said.
Ronald added that Xbox Backward Compatibility on PC is meant to make older games easier to play across devices people use now. His comments place the PC launch inside Microsoft’s larger plan to link Xbox consoles, Windows PCs and handheld gaming hardware more closely.
The Verge reported that Ronald had hinted earlier this year that classic Xbox games would come to PC during a discussion about Microsoft’s next-generation Project Helix Xbox console. The Verge has also reported that Microsoft’s next Xbox will run PC games and that the company has been working on a disc-to-digital feature for people with physical Xbox game collections.
Microsoft has not announced additional original Xbox titles for the PC backward compatibility preview in the details disclosed so far. The first four games set the starting point for a program the company says will bring more Xbox console games to PC over time.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.