After 11 years, Xbox One emulators are finally coming to PC

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Fan developers recently revealed XWine1, a compatibility layer that aims to do everything you could want from an Xbox One emulator.

The developers announced their project to the world on September 8. “Introducing XWine1, an Xbox One translation layer for Windows PCs,” they said. excitement. “Currently, six games are fully playable, the others have logos and in-game access. More news to come!” Accompanying the tweet was a series of images showing games like Minecraft: Xbox One Edition, Limbo, Peggle 2, Sonic Mania, and Undertale running on XWine1.

XWine1 is again a compatibility layer rather than an emulator. On a technical level, the Xbox One is essentially a computer that runs a heavily modified version of Windows, with software that converts native Xbox applications into a form that can run on standard Windows computers. It’s similar to Valve’s Proton compatibility layer, which converts Windows games into a form that can be run on Linux-based devices, specifically including the Steam Deck.

Of course, seeing games like Minecraft and Undertale running on PC might not generate much excitement because, like the vast majority of Xbox One games, they’re available natively on the platform. The list of actual Xbox One exclusives is vanishingly small, including games like Halo 5, the Rare Replay collection, and a handful of Forza games. This small exclusive roster is probably why it’s taken so long for developers to pick up the Xbox One torch. PS4 emulation provided a huge advantage.

But the Xbox One itself has a hidden bonus. It has solid original Xbox and Xbox 360 emulators that match and often exceed the unofficial options. XWine1 developers say The software should eventually support games that have been made backwards compatible on Xbox One, and I believe this could eventually expand to games that have not been whitelisted by Microsoft for backwards compatibility.

But if that happens, it’s a long way off. XWine1 appears to be quite early in development, as the developers haven’t even released a public version of the project for you to try. For now, it’s “not ready for public consumption,” as the developers explained in a follow-up post. “We will probably open source the project as well as the first binary release, but it’s too early to confirm anything yet.”

Note that XWine1 isn’t the only Xbox One compatibility layer in development, but many contemporaries They have not yet made the move to reveal themselves to the public. The only thing currently in the public eye is WinDurango. GitHub but it is not compatible with any games yet. Here’s hoping at least one of these projects can get to the point where it can power a large portion of the Xbox One library.

Maybe we’ll find a brand new way to play the game. best Xbox One games sooner or later.