Microsoft reportedly plans to bring Xbox 360 games to PC
A leaked document reportedly details Microsoft's plan to let developers sell Xbox 360 games on PC, with a gradual rollout between 2027 and 2028.
Microsoft is planning to let developers make their previously released Xbox 360 games available to buy and play on PC, according to a leaked document sent to developers and reported by The Verge. The plan reportedly covers “Xbox PCs,” the upcoming Project Helix, and handheld devices, on a gradual rollout between 2027 and 2028. It builds on the Backward Compatibility for PC program Microsoft launched last month, which put four original Xbox games on PC.
The existing PC releases use nested emulation, and emulator developers found that setup can run dumped Xbox 360 games.
The catch is that it’s opt-in. Developers choose whether their Xbox 360 titles receive PC backward compatibility, so this won’t be the whole library, it’ll be whatever publishers decide to carry over. The leaked document also detailed a separate disc-to-digital program for Xbox One and Xbox Series X discs, which reportedly does not extend to Xbox 360 discs. None of this is official yet. But a platform holder shipping emulation as its preservation path, and treating the 360 library as something that belongs on modern hardware, is the right direction. The open question is how much of the catalogue actually makes the trip.