Like Sony, Xbox may be laying the groundwork for an all-digital future.
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It seems Microsoft is planning to bring Xbox 360 games to PC alongside those for its original console. A feature that will enable consumers to get digital versions of Xbox games they own on disc may be deployed soon as well.
That's according to The Verge, which got its hands on a document that Microsoft recently shared with developers. The paperwork reportedly stated they'll be able to opt into making their Xbox 360 games backward compatible in order to run on the upcoming Project Helix console — which will run PC games — PC and handheld systems.
It's said that developers can set their own prices for the PC versions and bring their titles to Game Pass if they wish. It seems likely these games will have Xbox Play Anywhere support, so you should be able to play them anywhere across the Xbox ecosystem after buying them once. It's believed that Microsoft will gradually roll out this program over the next couple of years.
If it goes ahead with the Xbox 360 plan, Microsoft will be building on a project to bring games from the original Xbox to PC. Microsoft announced that initiative last month with an initial batch of four games. The Verge reports that Microsoft is set to expand that program in October with a "full launch." Microsoft said it would bring achievements to original Xbox games, so perhaps October's when that'll happen too.
For what it's worth, when Microsoft started bringing Xbox games to PC a couple of weeks ago, data miners quickly discovered something interesting within the files. As Tom's Hardware reported, the company included the official emulator (dubbed Xe03 or Fission) that it uses to run Xbox 360 games on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S games. Within Fission is another emulator called XeFu or Fusion, which allows for emulation of the original Xbox on modern consoles and now PC.
Meanwhile, it appears the disc-to-digital program (which ties a digital copy of a game to a corresponding disc) may ramp up very soon. The document reportedly stated that a public beta was supposed to begin for Xbox Insiders in July ahead of broader availability this month, but it appears there's been a delay. The disc-to-digital program would offer a way for players to have continued access to games for which they have physical copies on Project Helix. It's not clear if that system will have a disc drive or if, like PlayStation, Xbox plans to stop making game discs entirely.
