Microsoft brings original Xbox backward compatibility to Windows PCs

First Compatible Titles Run on an 11-Year-Old Graphics Card

For years, Microsoft has leaned heavily into extensive backward compatibility across multiple generations of Xbox hardware as a major selling point for its consoles. Today, that effort expands past the console ecosystem, making select original Xbox titles officially playable (and purchasable) on Windows PCs for the first time.

Launch Titles and Pricing

The appropriately and bluntly named “Xbox Backward Compatibility on PC” program kicks off today with compatibility for:

• BLiNX: The Time Sweeper
• Conker: Live and Reloaded
• Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
• Fuzion Frenzy

PC players can download each title for $10, but those with Xbox Game Pass subscriptions or existing digital licenses for these games on console will have instant access without an additional purchase (no such luck if you simply stick an original Xbox disc in your PC drive, alas).

Enhanced Graphical Features

Playing these older Xbox titles on PC enables some bonus graphical features like:

• Vsync support
• Anisotropic filtering
• Enhanced anti-aliasing
• Up to 4x resolution scaling of the original SD signal (to 2560×1920)

Games are limited to their original frame rates and aspect ratios, though, which means a 30 fps 4:3 image in most cases.

System Requirements

Microsoft says this first batch of games should be playable with an 11-year-old GTX 950 graphics hardware, but recommends a 2017-era GTX 1070 Ti with 8GB of VRAM for best performance.

Early Performance Analysis

Early testing from Digital Foundry found the PC experience akin to playing the same games on an Xbox Series X. That said, the testers reported weak anisotropic filtering, some frame timing issues that led to “jerky camera motion,” and “a handful of visual bugs” across the initial wave of titles.