Original Story: It was just recently that we heard from Spanish YouTuber eXtas1s about release dates and pricing for the ROG Xbox Ally handheld, and now they're back again with another video today - this time talking about Xbox backwards compatibility.
In their video, they mention that according to a source of theirs that works inside Microsoft, Xbox is embarking on an "ambitious" project with a provisional name of "Xbox Classics" (and they insist this name could easily change), dedicated to focusing on original Xbox and Xbox 360 emulation.
They advise it's a "new advanced emulation platform" that should offer big benefits across multiple systems:
"What Xbox is working on is a new advanced emulation platform, designed to run classic Xbox 360 and original Xbox titles with stability [and] graphical improvements - full integration with Game Pass, PC, current consoles, portable devices like the ROG Xbox Ally, and of course, the cloud."
It's suggested that Xbox might divide this announcement into "two large waves" in 2026 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the brand, although eXtas1s isn't sure what specific dates those might be.
Surprisingly, they also say that Microsoft has "established a direct collaboration" with the team behind the unofficial Xbox 360 Xenia emulator in order to make this possible. That's pretty crazy if true!
They reveal a "shortlist" of games that are said to be getting "optimisation on this new emulation platform" as well, with these including Fable 2, Skate 3, Gears of War 3 and Batman Arkham Asylum. These games will apparently now be "more stable" with "fewer errors, a better frame rate and also optimised to run on both PC and in the cloud".
That's not the whole list by any means, as a bunch of games are apparently being evaluated for technical and licensing compatibility - eXtas1s reels off a few other potential titles such as Def Jam: Fight for New York, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Castle Crashers, Darksiders 2, Prince of Persia (2008), Skate 2 and Left 4 Dead 2.
"The goal, as I understand it, is not just to bring back nostalgia, but for these video games to be played better than ever - even on portable hardware like the ROG Xbox Ally and the cloud, on a smart TV or on a mobile phone."
Finally they sum up their video report by explaining that Xbox is betting on three "simultaneous versions for each game" in the form of a console version, a PC version and a cloud version. This would be a significant overhaul compared to the current system which is only optimised for console on Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.
Obviously this is all just a rumour / report and not official information for now, so take it with a pinch of salt. There are a lot of details that are being shared though, so we're hopeful this overhaul will come to fruition at some point in 2026.
