Microsoft should make these 10 Xbox games backwards-compatible on PC
Published Jul 24, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT
It's time for some classics to reach a whole new audience
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Sometimes, it’s easy to forget how diverse the original Xbox game library really was. Early in its life, a handful of major Japanese publishers released some absolute bangers. Sega was surprisingly prolific, Tecmo truly came into its own, and Microsoft itself worked with skilled partners to develop a variety of hidden gems. Other third parties from around the world made terrific contributions that ensured there was always something new and compelling to play. Soon, it could be easy to revisit this halcyon era — or at least parts of it.
Microsoft made the surprise announcement this week that it is bringing original Xbox games to Windows PC. The program kicked off with the release of four favorites, but additional ones are on their way. Updated releases will benefit from a host of new features to make them more enjoyable on newer hardware, with some of them even gaining achievements. As we wait for Microsoft to add additional selections, here are 10 original Xbox games that deserve backwards-compatible support in the near future.
1 Dead or Alive 3
Image: Team Ninja/TecmoRelease date: Nov. 14, 2001
Tecmo came out swinging with the third installment of its popular fighting franchise, which had already been stunning gamers on the Dreamcast. Although some players didn’t love its counters and holds, which paled in comparison to more technical fighters like the Tekken games, Dead or Alive 3 impressed even many of its critics with visuals that allowed it to stand out as the most gorgeous fighter of the era. The franchise is still active today, and Dead or Alive 6 Last Round arrived just last month, with a new character on the way.
2 Gladius
Image: LucasArtsRelease date: Oct. 28, 2003
Microsoft courted a variety of Japanese developers, but it didn’t make much progress on the all-important RPG front. Western developers produced a slew of great games we still love today, but more traditional experiences were sorely lacking… with the possible exception of Gladius. It might have come from LucasArts, but the game can easily hang with more traditional Japanese fare such as Tactics Ogre or Final Fantasy Tactics. Although it came to GameCube and PlayStation 2 as well, the game played best on Xbox thanks to improved visual clarity and a hard drive that cut down on load times.
3 Jet Set Radio Future
Image: Smilebit/SegaRelease date: Feb. 22, 2002
A lot of early Xbox titles began development as Dreamcast games before shifting to Xbox after Sega stopped manufacturing that console. Jet Set Radio Future is perhaps the most high-profile of those titles, and Microsoft even included it (along with Sega GT 2002) on a single disc to drive holiday sales. The game provided more of the quirky fun players loved in 2000’s Jet Grind Radio for the Dreamcast, but reached a new audience with its improved visuals and more expansive world. The virtual graffiti tagging and occasionally awkward skating might not appeal to everyone, but the overall aesthetic holds up well to this day and might appeal to fans of newer releases like Splatoon Raiders.
4 Ninja Gaiden Black
Image: Team Ninja/TecmoRelease date: Sept. 20, 2005
Ninja Gaiden on Xbox brought back Ryu Hayabusa, who starred in three iconic NES games and also appears in the Dead or Alive games. The new take on his legend presented brutal 3D worlds that ranked among the most stunning of the era, but it had its share of problems to go with the strengths. Ninja Gaiden Black introduced new modes, quality of life improvements (with new camera controls chief among them), and bundled content that originally came only as DLC, providing Xbox grateful players with the best version of perhaps the greatest ninja game ever made. The series had an amazing year in 2025, with Ninja Gaiden 2 Black and Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound both arriving within a few months of each other, so maybe the time is right to go back to the beginning.
5 Otogi: Myth of Demons
Image: FromSoftwareRelease date: Dec. 12, 2002
Before Dark Souls and after King’s Field and Armored Core, one of FromSoftware’s greatest successes was Otogi: Myth of Demons. Like many of the games on this list, it served as a visual showcase for what the Xbox hardware could do, featuring destructive environments and hordes of enemies for players to mutilate. Combat had real heft to it, with dashes and double jumps that allowed players to turn ancient Japan into their playground. The blend of chaotic action and intriguing folklore the game presented remains as compelling today as ever.
6 Panzer Dragoon Orta
Image: Smilebit/SegaRelease date: Dec. 19, 2002
Astride the back of a dragon, the world looks like a very different and sometimes more beautiful place, as Panzer Dragoon Orta proved when it launched in Japan in late 2002. It offered gorgeous aerial battles on rails, a bit like Nintendo’s Starfox games, but players of the era craved total freedom and didn’t always appreciate the genre’s restrictions. The game sold poorly and, thanks to outside factors, effectively marked the end of a franchise that had for some time looked like it might soon produce a genuine breakout hit. Perhaps now is the time for it to soar again.
7 Project Gotham Racing 2
Image: Bizarre Creations, Ltd./Microsoft Game StudiosRelease date: Nov. 18, 2003
The Xbox certainly didn’t lack for racers, with Sega GT 2002 and Forza Motorsport both launching during that platform’s life cycle. Nothing else really compared to Project Gotham Racing 2 from Bizarre Creations, however. It combined arcade and simulation racing styles, thanks to a kudos system that rewarded players who took risks as they drifted, drafted, and briefly caught air on detailed courses modeled after real cities from around the world. Difficulty sometimes jumped a bit too eagerly, especially when players faced off against relentless AI on their chase for the greatest accolades, but virtually everything else about the game was a triumph that deserves to be seen again. As an aside, it also provided the first chance to play the addictive twin-stick shooter that became Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved.
8 The Simpsons: Hit & Run
Image: Radical Entertainment/Vivendi Universal GamesRelease date: Sept. 16, 2003
There was a time when games based on The Simpsons were all over the place. The Simpsons: Hit & Run hit near the end of that long streak, providing an experience that some players still remember as the very best of its kind. Springfield is a sandbox filled with the sights and sounds of the cartoons (complete with familiar actors). The gameplay resembled the Grand Theft Auto games, but a less adult tone. It also offered quality of life enhancements compared to that other series, to go with its good cheer and humor. The game’s failure to appear on more modern hardware feels like an injustice, even if there are good reasons for it.
9 Ultra Bust-A-Move
Image: Taito/MajescoRelease date: Nov. 4, 2004
Versions of Bust-A-Move, whether genuine or otherwise, have come to virtually every gaming platform in existence. Few of them are so good that they make playing the other versions a disappointment, but that’s just the problem some players encountered after trying Ultra Bust-A-Move. At launch, the game offered compelling online multiplayer modes, along with numerous modes and objectives that changed how people played. Lots of cute mascots and 3D touches made the basic action feel deeper and more engaging, allowing everything from the game’s interface to its finer details to excel. The franchise has rarely felt as satisfying since.
10 Wakeboarding Unleashed Featuring Shaun Murray
Image: Shaba Games/ActivisionRelease date: June 10, 2003
Realistic water finally became a possibility with the Xbox generation, and Wakeboarding Unleashed Featuring Shaun Murray was just the game to offer it. Around that time, Activision was still riding the wave it created with its fiendishly popular Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games, and extreme sports were a big deal. But the approach taken with Shaun Murray felt just different enough to add some excitement, between the splash of water, the big air, the pull of the rope, and even the more laid back soundtrack. It’s a high water mark for the crowded subgenre, and it deserved to stick around longer than it did.
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