{"id":2056208,"date":"2026-07-22T15:55:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T12:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2056208"},"modified":"2026-07-22T15:55:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T12:55:20","slug":"following-layoffs-and-muddy-strategy-shifts-xbox-announces-backward-compatibility-on-pc-program-with-blinx-and-conker-leading-the-first-wave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2056208","title":{"rendered":"Following layoffs and muddy strategy shifts, Xbox announces Backward Compatibility on PC program, with Blinx and Conker leading the first wave"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Following layoffs and muddy strategy shifts, Xbox announces Backward Compatibility on PC program, with Blinx and Conker leading the first wave<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Past distractions.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Blinx-The-Time-Sweeper.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Blinx: The Time Sweeper cropped cover\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"Blinx-The-Time-Sweeper.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Xbox<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/fran-j-ruiz-author.png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"fran-j-ruiz-author.png\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/fran-ruiz\">Fran Ruiz<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-07-22T15:55:20+00:00\">July 22, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"62cb37a3-36cc-4ecd-85fd-234b7858ef11\" data-name=\"Blinx: The Time Sweeper\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Blinx: The Time Sweeper\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Blinx: The Time Sweeper\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Blinx: The Time Sweeper\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Blinx: The Time Sweeper\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Blinx: The Time Sweeper\" title=\"Follow Blinx: The Time Sweeper\"><br \/>\n  Follow Blinx: The Time Sweeper<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>As Microsoft tries to downplay the effects on its gaming business of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/microsoft-xbox-layoffs-2026-double-fine-compulsion-ninja-theory\">cutting 3,200 jobs and four studios<\/a>, Xbox is rethinking its whole strategy even if the more recent comments from inside the house <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/xbox-leadership-on-future-exclusives\">still sound confused at best<\/a>. Don&#8217;t worry though; old Xbox games are coming to PC.<\/p>\n<p>Via <a href=\"https:\/\/news.xbox.com\/en-us\/2026\/07\/22\/xbox-backward-compatibility-on-pc\/\">Xbox Wire<\/a>, the company has announced Xbox Backward Compatibility on PC, a surprise program that aims to bring &#8216;classics&#8217; &#8211; more on this below &#8211; to PC and handhelds like the ROG Xbox Ally for the first time ever. The emulation effort also includes features like &#8220;graphics settings, including up to 4x resolution upscaling, VSync support, Fullscreen and Windowed display modes, anisotropic filtering, enhanced anti-aliasing, and more.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The first batch of games includes four oldies you may or may not have played before: Blinx: The Time Sweeper, Conker: Live and Reloaded, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/crimson-skies-high-road-to-revenge\">Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge<\/a>, and Fuzion Frenzy. Though there are very vocal voices out there when it comes to gassing up games like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/crimson-skies\">Crimson Skies<\/a>, these aren&#8217;t system sellers. Still, we have to respect the effort, especially at a time when everyone is selling remakes and remasters while making old releases hard to buy and play. Earlier this generation, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/xbox-backwards-compatibility-list-xbox-360-games-series-x-6400\">Xbox&#8217;s backwards compatibility project<\/a> was one of the brand&#8217;s biggest strengths, so it&#8217;s nice to see it revived and evolved in some way.<\/p>\n<p>According to the announcement, &#8220;each of these games is now available for purchase on PC and also included with all <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/xbox-game-pass-games-list-this-month-price-6400\">Xbox Game Pass<\/a> plans&#8221;, with the separate purchase prices sitting at $9.99 (regional prices may vary). &#8220;If you already own a digital license for these games on console, that license now carries over to your PC or handheld,&#8221; so that&#8217;s also neat. They have cloud support, too.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We plan to add even more features to Xbox Backward Compatibility games in the future,&#8221; Jason Ronald, VP of next generation at Xbox, teased. In fact, these first four games will get achievements in the coming months. The sudden and half-baked nature of this first wave makes me think that, even if the push is well-meaning, this is another &#8220;break in case of emergency&#8221; fast reveal, like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/those-rumoured-fallout-3-and-fallout-new-vegas-remasteres-are-real-fallout-5-is-in-pre-production-and-fallout-76-is-getting-a-massive-expansion\">last week&#8217;s Bethesda roadmap<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s unclear if this move signals a return to the backwards compatibility efforts for Xbox consoles as well, but it&#8217;s certainly a step in the right direction. Elsewhere, it&#8217;s unclear if Sony&#8217;s PlayStation 6 will even have a disc drive to play games from previous generations after it was revealed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/sony-ending-playstation-discs-physical-media-january-2028\">the company would drop physical game releases entirely starting in 2028<\/a>. Platforms like GOG are still <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/gog-asks-for-support-regarding-game-preservation-efforts\">trying to fight to preserve all sorts of games<\/a>, though.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>As Microsoft tries to downplay the effects on its gaming business of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/microsoft-xbox-layoffs-2026-double-fine-compulsion-ninja-theory\">cutting 3,200 jobs and four studios<\/a>, Xbox is rethinking its whole strategy even if the more recent comments from inside the house <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/xbox-leadership-on-future-exclusives\">still sound confused at best<\/a>. Don&#8217;t worry though; old Xbox games are coming to PC.<\/p>\n<p>Via <a href=\"https:\/\/news.xbox.com\/en-us\/2026\/07\/22\/xbox-backward-compatibility-on-pc\/\">Xbox Wire<\/a>, the company has announced Xbox Backward Compatibility on PC, a surprise program that aims to bring &#8216;classics&#8217; &#8211; more on this below &#8211; to PC and handhelds like the ROG Xbox Ally for the first time ever. The emulation effort also includes features like &#8220;graphics settings, including up to 4x resolution upscaling, VSync support, Fullscreen and Windowed display modes, anisotropic filtering, enhanced anti-aliasing, and more.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The first batch of games includes four oldies you may or may not have played before: Blinx: The Time Sweeper, Conker: Live and Reloaded, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/crimson-skies-high-road-to-revenge\">Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge<\/a>, and Fuzion Frenzy. Though there are very vocal voices out there when it comes to gassing up games like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/crimson-skies\">Crimson Skies<\/a>, these aren&#8217;t system sellers. Still, we have to respect the effort, especially at a time when everyone is selling remakes and remasters while making old releases hard to buy and play. Earlier this generation, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/xbox-backwards-compatibility-list-xbox-360-games-series-x-6400\">Xbox&#8217;s backwards compatibility project<\/a> was one of the brand&#8217;s biggest strengths, so it&#8217;s nice to see it revived and evolved in some way.<\/p>\n<p>According to the announcement, &#8220;each of these games is now available for purchase on PC and also included with all <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/xbox-game-pass-games-list-this-month-price-6400\">Xbox Game Pass<\/a> plans&#8221;, with the separate purchase prices sitting at $9.99 (regional prices may vary). &#8220;If you already own a digital license for these games on console, that license now carries over to your PC or handheld,&#8221; so that&#8217;s also neat. They have cloud support, too.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We plan to add even more features to Xbox Backward Compatibility games in the future,&#8221; Jason Ronald, VP of next generation at Xbox, teased. In fact, these first four games will get achievements in the coming months. The sudden and half-baked nature of this first wave makes me think that, even if the push is well-meaning, this is another &#8220;break in case of emergency&#8221; fast reveal, like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/those-rumoured-fallout-3-and-fallout-new-vegas-remasteres-are-real-fallout-5-is-in-pre-production-and-fallout-76-is-getting-a-massive-expansion\">last week&#8217;s Bethesda roadmap<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s unclear if this move signals a return to the backwards compatibility efforts for Xbox consoles as well, but it&#8217;s certainly a step in the right direction. Elsewhere, it&#8217;s unclear if Sony&#8217;s PlayStation 6 will even have a disc drive to play games from previous generations after it was revealed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/sony-ending-playstation-discs-physical-media-january-2028\">the company would drop physical game releases entirely starting in 2028<\/a>. Platforms like GOG are still <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/gog-asks-for-support-regarding-game-preservation-efforts\">trying to fight to preserve all sorts of games<\/a>, though.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Following layoffs and muddy strategy shifts, Xbox announces Backward Compatibility on PC program, with Blinx and Conker leading the first wave Past distractions. Image credit: Xbox News by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on July 22, 2026 Follow Blinx: The Time Sweeper As Microsoft tries to downplay the effects on its gaming business of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2056208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2056208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2056208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2056208\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2056208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2056208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2056208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}