Microsoft is reportedly preparing to extend its backward compatibility efforts to the Xbox 360, with plans to allow the purchase and play of the console's games on PC. This initiative, detailed in leaked documents obtained by The Verge, would represent a significant expansion of Microsoft's strategy to bring its gaming catalog to PC platforms.
The program, tentatively referred to as Project Helix, is expected to support "Xbox PCs" and handheld devices. Developers will reportedly have the option to enable PC backward compatibility for their Xbox 360 titles, with a phased rollout anticipated between 2027 and 2028. This move follows Microsoft's recent announcement of bringing four original Xbox games to PC via a new backward compatibility program.
Speculation about Xbox 360 backward compatibility on PC has been fueled by observations that the recently released original Xbox games for PC run within an Xbox emulator that itself operates inside an Xbox 360 emulator. This nested emulation setup apparently allowed emulator developers to run Xbox 360 games with minimal reverse-engineering.
The leaked documentation also reportedly includes details on a disc-to-digital program currently in testing. This service would allow owners of Xbox One and Xbox Series X game discs to acquire digital licenses for those games, usable across Xbox devices. However, this disc-to-digital program does not appear to extend to Xbox 360 discs, a limitation possibly due to the discs' lack of the necessary licensing technology.