Back in 2024, I wrote that Microsoft had created an entire team with the sole purpose of preserving backward compatibility for future generations. It seems that Asha Sharma is still leading the charge with this notion, announcing backward compatibility between Xbox and PC. As of today, you'll be able to play XBOX games from the original console on PC and handhelds, with support for the XBOX Ally X and the ROG XBOX Ally.
Sharma is doubling down on Sony's shock decision to cancel physical media by appealing to the retro gamer in all of us, with XBOX writing a press release that has lots of things like 'your games library is your personal history of treasured memories,' and 'we don't want to leave our gaming legacy behind.' It's smart, and while this isn't a service that will work with physical games, it's still another big win for game preservation and keeping the titles of our past alive.
The XBOX Backward Compatibility rollout brings BLiNX: The Time Sweeper, Conker: Live and Reloaded, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenger, and Fuzion Frenzy to PC and handheld from today, all with extra features. You'll be able to purchase them on PC or access them from your existing XBOX Game Pass Plan, no matter which tier you're subscribed to. Digital licenses also carry over to your XBOX-compatible handheld or PC too, and you can play them on your XBOX console, PC, handheld, or through the cloud via Xbox Play Anywhere.
Here are the minimum system requirements you'll need to get started -
Minimum Requirements
- GPU: Nvidia GTX 950 or AMD Radeon RX 550 or Intel Arc A310
- CPU: 4 cores and 8 threads | Intel Core i3-10300 or AMD Ryzen 3 3100 or AMD Ryzen Z2 A
- RAM: 8 GB
- Video Memory: 4 GB
- OS: Windows 11
- Drivers and Versions: Latest Version as of January 2026
Recommended Requirements
- GPU: Radeon RX 6800S or Nvidia GTX 1070 Ti or Intel Arc A770
- CPU: 6 cores and 12 threads | Intel Core i5-10400 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme
- RAM: 16 GB
- Video Memory: 8 GB
- Drivers and Versions: Latest Version as of January 2026
Obviously, the gamers of today are used to certain 'quality of life features' and 'home gaming comforts', so XBOX have added some new features like being able to customise graphics, upscaling to 4X the original resolution, fullscreen modes, enhanced anti-aliasing, anisotropic filtering, VSync support, and much more.
And if you've ever requested achievements for original XBOX games, then you're in luck, because XBOX have finally listened, and they're bringing it to us as part of their backward compatibility plans later this year.
Any step to preserve retro games is a win in my book, and the fact that we've been promised lots more games joining this backward compatibility project is very exciting. I hope the service moves to XBOX 360 games too, making it even easier to delve into the wider XBOX catalogue. For now, I suggest you go back to check out Conker: Live and Reloaded for the rest of the afternoon!
