Xbox introduces backwards compatibility for PC, bringing classics back to life
We're expecting a lot of dead games to be brought back from the brink with this initiative, but Xbox is starting steady with four games.
Say what you will about Xbox, but the green team has always had quite a solid handle on backwards compatibility (after the Xbox One launch debacle, anyway). Classic games from the original Xbox and 360 are still playable on console, and now Xbox looks to launch them on PC, too, finally bringing a slew of old, beloved games to a new platform.
As Jason Ronald, VP of Next Generation at Xbox, explained in a new post on the Xbox Wire site, backwards compatibility is starting with just four original Xbox titles, which are: BLiNX: The Time Sweeper, Conker: Live and Reloaded, Crimson Skies: High Road to Vengeance, and Fusion Frenzy. These games are the "beginning of a broader effort to preserve Xbox games from the past and bring them to PC over time," Ronald writes, confirming more games will be brought to PC, as well as the ROG Xbox Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally through Play Anywhere.
Each of the games listed above are already available to buy on PC, but they're included in a Game Pass subscription, too. As well as being playable on PC for the first time, the games also have some new features, including 4x resolution upscaling, VSync support, more display modes, and other new additions to make the PC experience feel more unique.
We don't know when we'll get more games coming to PC this way, but if you've been mourning an Xbox classic because you can't find it anywhere on Steam, GOG, or the Xbox App, soon that could change. It's unknown whether Xbox is focusing on original Xbox games only right now, or if this initiative extends to the 360 too. If so, I'm begging for a Viva Pinata re-release on PC.
