Microsoft Could Be Expanding Xbox Backward Compatible Games to PC

Microsoft is trying its best to make Xbox return to glory, and its backward-compatibility feature is one of the key stepping stones to achieve it. But it may not be limited to Xbox, as Xbox’s backward-compatible games might be coming to PC in October 2026. The information comes via industry expert Tom Warren, who shared the leak on his X account.

According to him, it comes from a leaked Microsoft document sent to the developers. The leak mentions a Microsoft-built emulator that will be locally executed on your PC. This suggests that an emulator for playing the Xbox originals will soon be either added to Windows directly or made available as a separate app.

The document also mentions the rollout of backward-compatible original Xbox titles on PC via Xbox Game Pass or the Xbox Store in October 2026. If the leak is true, it would solidify that PC players would also get to play Xbox Originals soon.

This would be a major win for gamers in general, as it would not make the games exclusive to the Xbox consoles. After Asha Sharma took charge of Xbox, she has been making many good decisions like these, so seeing this doesn’t surprise me at all. We also recently saw a leak suggesting Xbox Helix would have a disc drive, despite PlayStation deciding to go digital-only.

Although the digital and physical disc row will continue in the future, it is also true that players are buying fewer physical games than ever before. US Physical game sales collapse clearly hints at this, so unless gamers start buying more physical games, we don’t see it surviving in the future.

What Xbox original games would you like to see become available soon? The four games that have been confirmed so far are BLiNX: The Time Sweeper, Conker: Live and Reloaded, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, and Fuzion Frenzy. Tell us about it in the comments section below.