Could Xbox 360 emulation come to Windows 10? “Never say never”

2 min. read

Published on February 7, 2017

published on February 7, 2017

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If you spent a lot of money on Xbox 360 games back in the day, then the Xbox One’s backward compatibility feature is great incentive to keep you on the Xbox ecosystem. Sure enough, there are over 300 total Backward Compatible games on the Xbox One as of today, and the list aready includes blockbuster titles such as the BioShock trilogy, the Mass Effect trilogy and more and we see new games being added every week or so.

It’s really great to be able to play some Xbox 360 games on the Xbox One, but could Microsoft also implement backward compatibility on Windows 10 PCs? Considering that the Xbox 360’s hardware is approaching 12 years old (an eternity in the tech world), the thought may be not too far-fetched after all.

Answering a question about the feasibility of that project on Twitter (via Windows Central), Xbox head Phil Spencer said “never say never,” acknowledging at the same time that it would certainly be a difficult challenge considering the myriad of different PC hardware configurations in the market today:

Running BC reliably on all the different PC HW configs would be a lot more work than XB1, but never say never.

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) February 7, 2017

Backward compatibility is certainly one of the Xbox One’s killer features, and bringing it to Windows 10 PC could help Microsoft to fulfill its Xbox Play Anywhere ambition. Adding Xbox 360 games to the Windows Store could also make it a more interesting option for PC gamers looking for Steam alternatives.

On the other side though, you could argue that the feature should remain a console exclusive to drive Xbox One sales. Backward compatibility definitely makes the purchase of an Xbox One more valuable, and as a matter of fact Xbox One owners can already stream Xbox One and backward compatible Xbox 360 games to their Windows 10 PCs through the Xbox app.

Do you think it could be in Microsoft’s interest to bring backward compatible Xbox 360 games to Windows 10 PCs, or do you think the company should rather focus on making the Xbox One the best gaming console in the market? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below?

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time). For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web. Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they're looking for.