Microsoft is reportedly exploring backward compatibility for Xbox 360 games on Windows, which could extend to Windows-based handhelds such as the ROG Ally line, as well as the company’s next-gen console. That’s according to a well-known leaker who also shared additional details about the alleged Xbox initiative.
Microsoft actively invested in Xbox 360 backward compatibility throughout the Xbox One era, regularly releasing updates for its 2013 console that enabled access to an expanding library of last-generation titles via either digital licenses or physical game discs (which still required a download to play). However, the Xbox backward compatibility program officially ended in November 2021, with the company citing licensing, legal, and technical constraints as the chief reasons it had reached the limit of what could feasibly be added.
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Microsoft Reportedly Once Again Exploring Xbox 360 Backward Compatibility
Four years later, there is reportedly renewed movement on the Xbox 360 backward compatibility front. In early December 2025, well-known leaker NateTheHate wrote on the ResetEra forums that “there exists a hope to make legacy Xbox (OG and Xbox 360) games BC on ROG and Windows.” His comment came in response to another user referencing a recent rumor about Microsoft developing an official Xbox console emulator for Windows, as first reported by Jez Corden in mid-October 2025.
The Scope of the New Xbox Backward Compatibility Program Is Unclear
Elaborating on his claim, NateTheHate noted that nothing is set in stone right now, partly due to several major uncertainties surrounding the purported initiative. Chief among them is the project’s scope: it remains unclear whether Microsoft aims to expand on the work done with making the Xbox and Xbox 360 libraries backward compatible on the newer consoles, or simply bring those existing offerings to other platforms. The latter may be the more likely scenario, as the same licensing barriers that halted the program in late 2021 could still be in place today, preventing new legacy Xbox titles from being made playable on newer systems.
There exists a hope to make legacy Xbox (OG and Xbox 360) games BC on ROG and Windows. Whether they succeed is the unknown; but there is an effort being made.
Alternatively, the Windows backward compatibility program could end up being more limited than its Xbox One and Series X/S counterparts, depending on the licensing terms Microsoft used to bring older libraries to its most recent consoles. If, as is likely, those agreements do not extend to future platforms, Microsoft would need to renegotiate with publishers on a case-by-case basis. Even if not all-encompassing, any kind of official Xbox console backward compatibility program for Windows could offer a key gaming advantage for Microsoft at a time when players are growing increasingly anxious about game preservation.
Popular Xbox 360 Games That Were Never Added to Microsoft’s Backward Compatibility Program
- Alpha Protocol
- Project Gotham Racing 4
- Ninety-Nine Nights
- Eternal Sonata
- Resonance of Fate
- The Simpsons Game
- The Saboteur
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine
- Blur
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine
- Transformers: War for Cybertron
- Transformers: Fall of Cybertron
- Wet
- Stranglehold
According to recent reports, the next-generation Xbox console is being envisioned as a PC with a TV-friendly user interface. Taking this claim at face value, any form of legacy Xbox backward compatibility introduced on PCs would likely extend to Microsoft’s upcoming console by default, given their shared architecture. Such a move would also align with Microsoft’s ongoing push toward a fully platform-agnostic gaming feature spanning everything from desktops and handheld PCs to consoles and mobile devices running cloud services.
Previous industry rumblings suggested the next console generation could arrive as early as late 2027. It remains unclear whether Microsoft intends to replicate the dual-model strategy used for the Series X/S generation. If it does, there is a possibility that the Series S successor could take the form of a dockable handheld rather than a traditional home console.
