Xbox releases four original console games on PC thanks to Backwards Compatibility, but they chose the wrong ones

Published: July 25, 2026

Fans of the original Xbox suite of games can start to get excited, as Microsoft is adding some of its first-generation games onto PC. Thanks to Backwards Compatibility, you can now enjoy 4 options from the original lineup, available to purchase or on the Game Pass. Although enjoy might be a strong word given which games they picked.

Revealed on Xbox Wire, the games that Xbox chose to launch this service with are a bit lacking. I don't want to yuck anyone's yum, as it were, but I don't think anyone was yearning to play Fuzion Frenzy in this day and age. And yet, here it is, alongside BLiNX: The Time Sweeper, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, and Conker: Live & Reloaded. That last one is basically just a meme. Fun multiplayer game, though.

Conker aside, because I can see people playing that for "lols", the other three aren't that impressive. Certainly not enough to drive players to subscribe, which I assume is the point here. Nostalgia is powerful, as are achievements to hunt. The team acknowledges players want them, yet these 4 launch without them. They are being added later, but why release your new feature if it is incomplete?

It is even more mind-boggling when you think about what the original Xbox had to offer. Onimusha might not be a big money maker, but slap Genma Onimusha on there and you will have a cult following showing up. What a fantastic blend of horror and samurai action that was.

With New Radical Games studio launching last year, fans have been salivating over a The Simpsons: Hit and Run remake. I am sure popping the original on here would get people's attention. Although I assume licensing would be an issue. The cancellation of the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake by Ubisoft was a travesty; people would fall over themselves to play the original with achievements. Ubisoft fans are suckers for collectibles.

If we are tied to exclusives, like the four in question, Unreal Championship is a fantastic, slightly hectic, arena shooter, developed by the lovely people at Digital Extremes no less. Driving fans would have adored OutRun 2; play Splash Wave or Magical Sound Shower and they will burst through a wall. Or just trade off the old BioWare nostalgia and release with Jade Empire and the two Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games. Yes, KOTR 2 was Obsidian, I know; the point is Xbox would have a Scrooge McDuck vault in seconds if it was those 3.

Of course, we can't touch on the original Xbox without mentioning the big boy: Halo: Combat Evolved. With the launch of Halo: Campaign Evolved next week, wouldn't it have been perfect to launch this with Combat Evolved? Halo fans would have devoured it in the run-up to Campaign Evolved. Xbox would have been swimming in Game Pass subs.

We haven't even dove into the more obscure originals like Crimson Sea. Fantastic Action RPG-lite, please give it a go if you can. The point is, the original Xbox has a roster of fantastic games, yet this Backwards Compatibility launched with BLinX: The Time Sweeper. I feel like that sums up Xbox right now.