Xbox 360 emulator found in recent Xbox Backward Compatability titles on PC

Almost immediately after Microsoft released four backward compatible Xbox games on PC (Blinx, Fuzion Frenzy, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, and Conker: Live & Reloaded), dataminers have taken them apart and found something surprising inside: an Xbox 360 emulator. Well, more or less.

As per Wccftech, security researcher Milenko posted that after unpacking Fuzion Frenzy, they found something “wilder than a 360 emulator for PC.” They found the files related to the emulator Xe03, which is what’s used on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S for Xbox 360 backward compatibility. Specifically, Milenko discovered that the recently released original Xbox backward compatible games work by first emulating an Xbox 360 via Xe03, which then emulates the 360’s backward compatibility functionality. In practical terms, the tech needed to enable original Xbox 360 games to run on PC is basically already up and running.

While this makes it seem like a question of “when” rather than “if” Xbox 360 games will make the jump to PC, considering that Microsoft just launched its backward-compatible titles for the original Xbox, it may be some time until the company opts for this.

In the blog post announcing original Xbox compatibility, Microsoft promised more games, achievements, and other new features. The four original Xbox games, each going for a base $9.99 price, include customizable graphics settings, up to 4x resolution scaling, VSync support, fullscreen and windowed display modes, anisotropic filtering, and enhanced antialiasing. One of the most consumer-friendly inclusions is that those who purchased these games digitally in the past will be able to access them for no additional charge.

Microsoft’s support for its older games comes at a time when Sony is under significant scrutiny for its decision to end support of physical games on PlayStation, a move seen as undermining consumers’ digital ownership rights.

That said, Microsoft has been in the middle of its own controversies given that it is in the process of laying off over 3,000 employees from its Xbox division. Beloved studios like Ninja Theory are being sold off, and the legendary studio id Software, which created Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein, had its workforce cut in half. Needless to say, two of the three major console manufacturers are not in players’ good graces at the moment.