Valve just released its portable gaming PC the Steam Deck last week, and sure enough, owners are already running all sorts of emulators on the system.
One of them happens to be 'xemu' - the free open-source application that emulates original Xbox titles. YouTube channel The Phawx uploaded an entire video showing off classic Xbox games running on the Steam Deck.
You can see all sorts of games on display in the video below. The performance results are certainly hit and miss. Conker: Live & Reloaded, in particular, seems to encounter quite a few issues.
At the moment, this is the only way to get classic Xbox games running on Valve's new hardware, but this could all change in the future.
Last week, Valve's Gabe Newell said he was more than happy to work with Microsoft about bringing PC Game Pass to Steam. Xbox and Steam are also on good terms - with Microsoft gaming head Phil Spencer visiting Valve HQ not long ago. He also got his hands on a Steam Deck.
As interesting as the above showcase is, we must admit - if you're an Xbox fan, official backward compatibility is certainly the best way to enjoy the good majority of Xbox classics - with improved resolutions and frame rates.
Would you be interested in a Steam Deck? How about Game Pass on Steam? Leave a comment down below.
[source youtu.be]
Comments 11
I'm far more interested in the Xbox App running on Steam Deck to take advantage of the 'Play Anywhere' feature. It's still incorporated on newer games, usually first party. Much as I love anything SteamDeck the whole Piracy vs. Preservation argument isn't very appealing.
Emulation is one of the biggest reasons I want a Steam deck. Old school games look and feel better on a small screen than on a giant 4K tv. Have been tempted to jailbreak my Switch on several occasions.
To be fair, emulation for the original Xbox has been notriously difficult to crack, even on regular PCs. Not going to link anything, but there is a lengthy video on YouTube explaining why that is whereas Dreamcast, GameCube, and Playstation 2 emulation (and even later consoles) have practically been solved.
Shame though. Mad Dash Racing, Murakumo, and a few other Original Xbox games are still stuck in that generation and unplayable even on 360.
@Kooky_Daisuke that is for gamepass not emulation
@Krysus With the Steam Deck you are able to install Windows and then use the Xbox App through that. I'm still hoping an official app comes out for use within the Steam OS though.
I am still on the fence if I will go ahead with my reservation for the deck. On one hand I would play more of the PC games and do a ultra emulation machine but paying 600€+ just for that when I mostly play GP games nowadays...
The issue with this handheld is that it’s only worth it if you have Steam - yes I know I’m being captain obvious here - but unless you really want to play mobile in the house it’s battery life is dreadful. If you could download games from Xbox to it then I would be interested for sure but Xcloud isn’t that great at the best of times. The only place I can play Xcloud is on my phone or I pad at home. 5G hasn’t reached Derbyshire and it’s shoddy in a lot of places.
Steam Deck is after a very specific audience and I can’t see it becoming a huge mainstream success like Switch.
I’ll wait until they upgrade it maybe and it has more to offer. For now it’s just something that looks great in theory but needs more to convince me.
@SubjectNine You can install Windows if you want to. It's just a PC essentially.
@Kooky_Daisuke ah yes downloading full size console games onto your phone is a extremely good idea
@SubjectNine Same. They've already spoken of getting Game Pass running on SoS natively. I believe that's the same thing?
@Krysus They’ve said they’re happy to work with MS to get it working, hopefully MS will work with them
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