Four classic Xbox games are heading to PC as part of a new program from Microsoft. These older titles, which are currently available on Xbox Game Pass, will now be playable on desktops, laptops and handhelds such as the ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X.
On Wednesday, the Xbox Backward Compatibility preview went live, allowing owners of four titles first released for the original Xbox — Blinx: The Time Sweeper, Conker: Live and Reloaded, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge and Fuzion Frenzy — to play them on their Windows PC and handhelds. Microsoft says it will roll out more features for these games in the future, including Xbox Achievements.
MicrosoftThe four games may be more than 20 years old, but Microsoft did add some options to improve the gaming experience. Players can change the graphics settings, including up to 4x resolution upscaling, VSync support, display mode options, anisotropic filtering, enhanced anti-aliasing and more customizations to improve the look of these older titles.
Each game is available for purchase for $10 from the Xbox Store, and once owned on Xbox, the games can be played on PC or handhelds via Xbox Play Anywhere or streamed with Xbox Cloud Gaming. The titles are also available on Xbox Game Pass.
In order to play these games on a desktop, laptop or handheld, it must meet certain hardware specs:
Minimum system requirements:
- GPU: Nvidia GTX 950 or AMD Radeon RX 550 or Intel UHD 770 or Intel Arc A310
- CPU: Min 4 Cores Intel Core i3-8100 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200 or AMD Ryzen™ Z2 A Processor
- RAM: 8GB
- OS: Windows 11
- Drivers and Versions: Latest Version as of January 2026
Recommended specifications:
- GPU: Radeon RX 68005 or Nvidia GTX 1070 Ti or Intel Arc A770
- CPU: 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: 8GB
- OS: Windows 11
- Drivers and Versions: Latest Version as of January 2026
Microsoft says the Xbox Backward Compatibility program is a form of game preservation, which has become a concern for gamers. With Sony announcing it will phase out physical discs and Nintendo’s Game-Key Cards that don’t contain the actual games, many worry that game ownership will become entirely dependent on publishers rather than having a physical medium to hold onto. There is a growing number of delisted games that are no longer available to those who purchased them, and with the future of gaming looking increasingly uncertain because of the current memory shortage, many fear their digital game collections could simply disappear from their accounts.
