Xbox fans have been wondering for a long time what might be next for its backwards compatibility and game preservation efforts. Today, we got a pretty big hint.
Shared on Xbox Wire, Xbox VP Jason Ronald revealed that the Xbox backward compatibility program is expanding to PC, with new emulation tech supporting Xbox games on Windows for the first time.
It's early days yet, but it's an encouraging step about where Xbox's efforts to preserve its gaming legacy will end up in the coming years.
"Your library is more than just a collection of games. It is your personal history of epic stories and treasured memories from the past. And as players, we don’t want to leave our gaming legacy behind even as technology continues to evolve and advance. We expect our library of games to move forward with us and to be able to play them in entirely new ways," Jason Ronald explained.
The initial wave of games will include Blinx: The Time Sweeper, Fuzion Frenzy, Crimson Skies, and Conker: Live and Reloaded. All are classic OG Xbox games fully owned by Microsoft, but it stands to reason that even more titles previously locked away on Xbox consoles could eventually appear on Windows PCs and Xbox gaming handhelds, like the Xbox Ally.
Additionally, and surprisingly, these games will also eventually support Xbox achievements "later this year," says Ronald. Considering the source code for these games is likely covered in cobwebs, I'm curious how Microsoft has managed to achieve this one.
The games will also support a variety of PC-oriented upgrades. They will support Xbox Play Anywhere with Xbox Cloud saves. They have 4X resolution scaling, V-Sync support, Full and Windowed display modes, anisotropic filtering, anti-aliasing, and other PC-expected features.
In a universe where digital ownership rights are in the spotlight, it's great to see Xbox leading the charge for backward compatibility and preservation here. It increasingly seems like disc-based games are not long for this world, but platforms like GOG are stepping up to offer DRM-free digital options, and companies like Xbox continue to invest in bringing more console-locked titles to Windows PC, complete with dual-platform license entitlements via Xbox Play Anywhere.
It's only four games for now, but could we realistically see a future where all your digital Xbox content could move between platforms even as console hardware becomes obsolete and stops being manufactured? One can hope.
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