Xbox marked 25 years since its first console with a batch of announcements in Seattle on Thursday, Nov. 12. On PC, 21 more original Xbox games now run on Windows 11 through backward compatibility, including Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Microsoft also confirmed Wolfenstein 3 and a free Firefight mode for Halo: Campaign Evolved.
The news came at the last stop of an eight-city FanFest tour, according to the company's anniversary recap.
Original Xbox games on PC
The PC library of original Xbox games now stands at 25, up from the four Microsoft added earlier this year. The new batch leans hard on Star Wars. Both Knights of the Old Republic games, Republic Commando, Jedi Academy, Jedi Outcast, Jedi Starfighter and the first two Battlefront games are on the full list. It also includes TimeSplitters 2, TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, Red Faction II and Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb.
You need Windows 11, and you have to own the game or, for some titles, have Game Pass. Morrowind and Grabbed by the Ghoulies come with Game Pass, as do the four games added earlier. The first four arrived on PCs earlier this year, handhelds such as the ROG Xbox Ally family included. Every game in the library now supports mouse and keyboard, and availability depends on your country.
Achievements for old games
Old games can now earn achievements, too. The first four are both Knights of the Old Republic games, BLiNX: The Time Sweeper and Conker: Live and Reloaded. The achievements also work on Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles after the latest system update. Microsoft says earlier progress can count toward some of them, and more old games will get achievements later.
Wolfenstein 3, Halo and Fable
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said Wolfenstein 3 is in production at MachineGames, with Brian Bloom and Debra Wilson back as BJ Blazkowicz and Grace Walker, and she confirmed that id Software, the studio behind DOOM, has its next project in development as well. There is no release date yet.
Firefight, Halo's cooperative survival mode, comes to Halo: Campaign Evolved in a free winter update. Microsoft showed new quest gameplay from Fable, and DOOM: The Dark Ages adds a Slaughter Mode on Nov. 16 for owners of the Revelations DLC, the Premium Edition or the Premium Upgrade.
Several current games are handing out free anniversary items. Minecraft: Bedrock Edition players can claim an "OG Green" Character Creator skin until Dec. 10 at 10 a.m. Pacific, and Halo: Campaign Evolved players get a Damascus Prototype armor style. Forza Horizon 6 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 add anniversary liveries.
