Microsoft is expanding its backward compatibility program, officially bringing several classic Xbox games to PC and handheld systems. The new initiative begins with only four titles, but the company plans to expand the selection with additional games over the coming months.
Microsoft is redoubling its efforts to improve its backward compatibility program. The company surprised everyone by announcing “XBOX Backward Compatibility on PC,” a new feature in its preservation efforts that allows players to run classic Xbox titles on PCs and handheld systems such as the ROG Xbox Ally. For now, the feature applies to only four titles from Microsoft’s first console, but this small selection will expand over the coming months. The idea is not simply to promote basic ports either, as each game included in the “XBOX Backward Compatibility on PC” program will offer certain enhancements to its respective experience.
An Initiative That Begins With Four Games
“Your library is more than just a collection of games. It’s your personal history of epic stories and treasured moments from the past. And, as gamers, we don’t want to leave our gaming legacy behind as technology continues to evolve and advance. We hope our library will accompany us on this journey and that we can enjoy those titles in entirely new ways,” the Redmond-based company stated in an article published on Xbox Wire.
Microsoft’s initiative involves making four original Xbox games available on PC and handheld devices for the first time. While the technology giant is not sharing many details about its future plans for this new feature, it assures players that “this marks the beginning of a larger effort to preserve Xbox games from the past and bring them to PC over time. And we’re not just letting you play them on PC. We’re also adding new features to make your gaming experience better than ever.” Below is the list of titles confirmed to run on computers right now:
BLiNX: The Time Sweeper
Conker: Live and Reloaded
Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
Fuzion Frenzy
What exactly does Microsoft mean when it talks about introducing new features? Players can customize graphics settings, including upscaling the resolution by up to four times, enabling VSync support, choosing between fullscreen and windowed modes, and adjusting anisotropic filtering, anti-aliasing, and more. As if that were not enough, the Redmond-based company is also working on adding one of the most frequently requested features among players: achievements. However, all of these features are available only on PCs that meet the minimum or recommended requirements listed in the following table:
6 cores and 12 threads: Intel Core i5-10400 / AMD Ryzen 5 3600 / AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme
RAM
8 GB
8 GB
Operating System
Windows 11
Windows 11
Drivers and Versions
Latest version available as of January 2026
Latest version available as of January 2026, DirectX 12 API, and hardware feature level 11
All four titles are now available for purchase on PC through the Microsoft Store and are included in every Xbox Game Pass subscription plan. Players who already own a digital copy of any of these games can also transfer their access license to a computer or handheld device. Naturally, all the games selected for this first wave of backward compatibility on PC support both Xbox Play Anywhere and Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Source: 3DJuegos
