Microsoft has announced a new Xbox backwards compatibility program on PC, starting to offer a small selection of Xbox classics playable on PC and handhelds, including the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X.
The first wave of games includes:
- BLiNX: the time sweeper
- Conker: Live and Reloaded
- Crimson Skies: The Great Road to Vengeance
- Fusion Frenzy
This is an interesting announcement, considering the possible future of Project Helix, with rumors that it will be more PC-like and what that will mean for compatibility with older systems and games. Starting with original Xbox games makes this relatively easy, but we don’t know if this is limited to that system or if it will soon be expanded to include some Xbox 360 games.
All four are available through Xbox Game Pass on PC and now for purchase on PC, but if you own a digital license for console gaming, it will also carry over to Windows PC. The only exception here is if you own the original Xbox discs and have an optical drive on your PC…this won’t work. There’s also Xbox Play Anywhere and Xbox Cloud Gaming support to make them as universal as possible.
Some graphics customizations will be possible with up to 4x resolution upscaling, VSync, full and windowed modes, anisotropic filtering, anti-aliasing and much more.
Xbox also offers achievements to select games from before that system, and this quartet will be included when it’s added later this year.
Given the age of these games, there are some pretty modest minimum requirements for this to work, although a key aspect is the need for Windows 11.
Minimum system requirements:
- GPU: Nvidia GTX 950 or AMD Radeon RX 550 or Intel UHD 770 or Intel Arc A310
- Processor: Minimum 4-core processor Intel Core i3-8100 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200 or AMD Ryzen™ Z2 A
- RAM: 8 GB
- Operating system: Windows 11
- Drivers and versions: Latest version in January 2026
Recommended specifications:
- GPU: Radeon RX 68005 or Nvidia GTX 1070 Ti or Intel Arc A770
- Processor: 6 cores and 12 threads Intel Core i5-10400 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme
- DirectX version: DirectX12 API, hardware feature level 11
- GPU VRAM: 8 GB
- Operating system: Windows 11
- Drivers and versions: Latest version in January 2026
Source: Xbox
