Summary

With the release of XenonRecomp, a tool that allows recompilation of Xbox 360 games, we may soon start receiving native PC ports of Xbox 360 titles. While XenonRecomp is a massive step in the right direction when it comes to enjoying Xbox 360 games on PC, I still bought a used Xbox 360 to enjoy these titles. Here’s why.

Native PC Ports of Xbox 360 Games Will Take a While to Arrive

XenonRecompis a fantastic tool that may one day makeXbox 360 emulation obsolete. But creating native PC ports of Xbox 360 games isn’t that straightforward. you may’t simply translate the Xbox 360 code to C++ with XenonRecomp, call it a day, and play Xbox 360 games on your PC.

Creating PC ports of Xbox 360 games is still quite an involved and lengthy process, even with the help of XenonRecomp. The developers ofUnleashed Recompiled, the first native PC port of an Xbox 360 game, had spent years editing and fixing the recompiled code to make the game playable on PC. After making the game run without issues on PC, they spent more time optimizing it and adding new features, such as a higher frame rate.

A screenshot from the Unleased Recompiled trailer showing Sonic the Hedgehog in high definition.

Realistically, we shouldn’t expect the biggest Xbox 360 exclusives to receive native PC ports anytime soon. Just look at the state of native PC ports of Nintendo 64 games, which use a similar technique viaN64: Recompiled, to translate the N64 code into C.

Despite the tool being available for almost a year, we’ve only gotten theMajora’s Mask portdespite N64 featuring a ton of cult classics, many of which are still quite popular even today. In other words, XenonRecomp is a great tool for game preservation, but it will take years for the most popular Xbox 360 exclusives to be ported to PC.

A used Xbox 360 with a controller placed on top of it.

The best alternative, emulating Xbox 360 games, isn’t that great. The majority of Xbox 360 bangers are unplayable on PC viaXenia, by far the best Xbox 360 PC emulator. I managed to beatForza Horizona few years ago, and the game worked flawlessly. The Xbox 360Forza Motorsportgames on the other hand, which are the main reason why I got myself an Xbox 360 in 2025, are still unplayable and will be for quite some time.

I wanted to play them now because I had been yearning for a while for a massivesimcadewith a meatysingle-playercampaign and tons of cars to drive, andForza Motorsport 2, 3, and4fit the bill perfectly.

An Xbox console with game boxes on top of it.

I also wanted to finally try out the Xbox 360, a console that was the talk of the town back in my late teens and early 20s, but one I never got to play aside from the odd session at a friend’s place because I was a PC gamer at the time and couldn’t afford a second gaming platform. The year the Xbox 360 is turning 20 and officially becoming a retro console seems like a perfect moment to finally play the most coveted games from its library.

The best way to play Xbox 360 exclusives is on an Xbox 360, and that won’t change anytime soon.

Xbox 360 games alongside an Xbox 360 controller laying on a table.

Xbox 360 Games Look Good, Even Today

While native PC ports of Xbox 360 games will most likely support higher resolutions and frame rates than Xbox 360 versions of said games, I’ve got to say that the Xbox 360 games I’ve played look fine to me even today.

I play the console on an ancient 42-inch 1080p TV, and every game I’ve tried looks more than decent.Forza Motorsport 2has that between-console-generation look that makes its visuals closer to an original Xbox game than a proper Xbox 360 title. But the 720p output combined with 60FPS performance makes it attractive enough for me to spend a few hours each day racing.

A used Xbox 360 with a controller placed on top of it.

Crackdownis also on my gaming plate at the moment. Despite the game’s simplistic visuals for modern standards and the 30FPS cap, Crackdown plays great. Yes, it looks a bit rough, but still good enough to forget about the visuals five minutes after beginning to bring back the order to Atlantic City.

I’ve also been playing tons ofTop Spin 4, the best tennis simulation ever, which I highly recommend to every fan of the sport. While the game has that “X360 and PS3” look during close shots between games, the visuals look great to me once the camera moves away and the action starts.

Lastly, I triedForza Motorsport 4when testing the console. That game looks so good I could call it an Xbox One game, and no one would bat an eye. High-res assets, impeccable60FPS performance, and impressively detailed racing tracks makeForza Motorsport 4a gorgeous game, even today. I had to decline to buy it, though, because it looks so pretty and plays so well that I’d just play the heck out of it and completely ignoreForza Motorsport 2and3.

The Console Was Cheap and the Games Are Cheap, Too

After realizing that there are threeForza Motorsportgames on the Xbox 360 just waiting for me to play them, I quickly pulled the local version of Craigslist and got a bunch of used Xbox 360 listings.

I found a seller near me who agreed to sell me the console along with two controllers for about $90 (€80), which is a great price for a used Xbox 360 in this neck of the woods. I had thought I’d be fleeced whenbuying physical games. So, my initial plan was only to getForza Motorsport 2, 3, and4, maybe a couple more titles I haven’t had the chance to play, likeTop Spin 4, and call it a day.

But I’ve been positively surprised by the prices. While the PS3 was the more popular choice of that console era around here, Xbox 360 discs are very cheap. I managed to snagCrackdown, Top Spin 4, andForza Motorsport 2for about $20 (€18). Most other games, even niche titles such asCondemned 2(RIP Monolith), cost less than a tenner.

In the end, I greatly expanded my Xbox 360 wishlist, which now includes more than 30 titles. I also gotForza 3, Condemned 2, andGhost Recon Advanced Warfighter 1and2(both games are on PC, but the X360 versions look and play differently) for about $30. Together with the aforementioned three games, I’m set for at least the next 6 months.

After I finish those, it will finally be time to play the legendaryForza Motorsport 4, Fable II, which never got a PC release, and a couple of other console exclusives that never saw the light of day on PC. Games such asBurnout Revenge, Fight Night, Project Gotham Racing 3and4, andThe Darkness.

I Can Play Xbox Games Too

A nifty bonus of owning an Xbox 360 is that I can also play a good chunk of original Xbox titles on it. I won’t use backward compatibility often, but I do plan to play through the firstForza MotorsportandBurnout 3, for starters.

I’ll also have to try a couple of other Xbox classics, namely the OGHalo(I never had a chance to play it on a console) andHalo 2.

I believe we will eventually get native PC ports of the most popular Xbox 360 games. And I hope that one day I’ll play Xbox 360Forza Motorsportgames on myROG Allyor whatever my handheld PC of choice is by the time those games come out on PC. However, at the moment, a used Xbox 360 isthe best and most affordable wayto enjoy Xbox 360 games.

There’s just something magical about playing games on their native platform. Taking the beaten-up controller that’s as comfortable as it was 20 years ago (theXbox 360 excels in this regard), turning on the console, and getting lost for hours playing games from my teens and early 20s I’d never had a chance to play while they were the new kids on the block.