Xbox will turn 25 on November 15, and the brand is marking the occasion by bringing 21 more classic original Xbox games to PC. The new titles became playable on November 12 through the Xbox Backward Compatibility on PC program, which runs these older games through an official emulator. According to the announcement on Xbox Wire, the list includes Armed and Dangerous, Disney’s Chicken Little, The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb, Red Faction 2, Secret Weapons Over Normandy, Thrillville, TimeSplitters 2 and TimeSplitters: Future Perfect. A large part of the lineup comes from the Star Wars franchise, with Star Wars Battlefront, Star Wars Battlefront 2, Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, Star Wars Jedi Knight 2 Jedi Outcast, Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 The Sith Lords, Star Wars: Republic Commando, Star Wars: Starfighter Special Edition and Star Wars: The Clone Wars all joining the program.
The new arrivals follow four original Xbox games that were already available on PC, which are BLiNX: The Time Sweeper, Conker: Live and Reloaded, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge and Fuzion Frenzy. Together they bring the total to 25 games, one for each year of the platform’s history. Many of the titles also have official PC ports, including Morrowind and both Knights of the Old Republic games, but playing the Xbox versions may still appeal to players who want to experience them as they originally appeared on the console. Six of the 25 games are included in Game Pass, namely the four earlier additions along with Morrowind and Grabbed by the Ghoulies, so subscribers can start playing without paying extra. Players who use a console are also covered, since all 25 games are available on Xbox as well.
Xbox has added a feature that was never part of the original console experience. Achievements, which first appeared with the Xbox 360, have now been added to four of the games: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, its sequel, BLiNX: The Time Sweeper and Conker: Live and Reloaded. These achievements can be earned on PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X and S, which gives players a fresh goal when they return to these older titles. Xbox has promised to bring achievements to more original Xbox games, although the pace of future additions may follow the gradual rollout seen with the backward compatibility lineup so far.
The anniversary push goes beyond classic games. Xbox has used the milestone to announce Wolfenstein 3, add new game modes to Halo and DOOM, and show more gameplay from Fable. Backward compatibility has long been one of the platform’s strengths, since the Xbox One and Xbox Series X and S consoles can already play many games from the original Xbox and Xbox 360 generations. Extending that effort to PC allows a wider audience to revisit shooters, role playing adventures and space combat games from the early 2000s, and it keeps the library of the original console available as the brand begins its next chapter.
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