According to XDA-Developers, a leaker known as NateTheHate has suggested Microsoft is working to make original Xbox and Xbox 360 games backwards compatible on Windows PCs and devices like the ROG Ally. This rumor stems from a ResetEra forum discussion about an interview with Xbox’s Jason Ronald, who teased that 2026—the 25th anniversary of Xbox—will be a time to “celebrate the great legacy” of the brand. The leaker specifically noted there’s a hope to bring legacy game support to PC, but the scope and success of the effort are complete unknowns. It’s unclear if such a program would mirror the existing Xbox Series X|S backwards compatibility list or expand it further. No official announcement has been made, and all details are expected to remain under wraps until at least next year.
The business of legacy
So, why would Microsoft even bother with this now? Here’s the thing: it’s all about ecosystem lock-in. The gaming landscape has fundamentally shifted from selling plastic boxes to maintaining a persistent, cross-platform service layer. Think about it. If your decades-old digital game library suddenly works on the PC you already own, or the Windows handheld you’re thinking about buying, your attachment to the Xbox “platform” gets way stronger. It’s not really about selling you Halo 3 again; it’s about making sure that when you think about buying a new game, you do it in a store where your old games already live. This move would be a direct counter to the walled-garden approaches of Nintendo and, to a lesser extent, Sony. It turns your entire PC into a potential Xbox.
The massive technical “if”
But let’s pump the brakes for a second. The leaker’s wording is crucial: “There exists a hope… Whether they succeed is the unknown.” That’s basically a fancy way of saying engineers are probably banging their heads against a wall in a lab somewhere. Emulation is hard. The Xbox 360 had a famously weird, tri-core PowerPC CPU architecture that’s a nightmare to emulate efficiently. Microsoft’s current BC magic on Series X|S uses hypervisor-level sorcery that’s deeply tied to the console’s specific hardware. Porting that witchcraft to the wild west of PC configurations, with a million different CPU and GPU combos, is a Herculean task. Could they do a limited, curated list of titles that are certified to work? Maybe. But a broad “play your 360 discs” promise? I have serious doubts.
Why this rumor feels different
And yet, the timing of this leak alongside that 2026 anniversary tease is what makes it tantalizing. It’s not just some random podcast speculation. Microsoft has been slowly blurring the lines between Xbox and Windows for years with Play Anywhere titles and PC Game Pass. Bringing a flagship feature like backwards compatibility across the final frontier makes a perverse kind of sense for a milestone anniversary. It would be the ultimate “legacy” celebration. Plus, with the rise of capable Windows handhelds, the market need is clearer than ever. People want to play their old games on these portable PCs, and if Microsoft doesn’t provide an official path, they’ll just use unofficial emulators. Why not try to own that experience?
Look, I want this to be true as much as anyone. The idea of firing up Lost Odyssey or the original Geometry Wars on a Steam Deck without jumping through hoops is a dream. But we’ve been burned by “Xbox games coming to PC!” rumors for two decades. My advice? Get cautiously excited for whatever Jason Ronald and team cook up for 2026, but keep your expectations for a full, legal 360 emulator on ice. For now, at least.
