Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and TimeSplitters 2 are playable on PC today in their original Xbox versions. Microsoft added 21 games to Xbox Backward Compatibility on PC this afternoon, which takes the library from four games to 25, a number chosen to match the 25th anniversary of the original Xbox on November 15.
The announcement on Xbox Wire also brings something original Xbox games have never had: achievements. Four games get them today, and they work on Xbox consoles as well as PC.
11 of the 21 new games are Star Wars, including both Knights of the Old Republic games
The 21 games added today:
- Armed and Dangerous
- Disney’s Chicken Little
- The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (also on Game Pass)
- Grabbed by the Ghoulies (also on Game Pass)
- Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb
- Red Faction II
- Secret Weapons Over Normandy
- Star Wars Battlefront
- Star Wars Battlefront II
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
- Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
- Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
- Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords
- Star Wars: Republic Commando
- Star Wars: Starfighter – Special Edition
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars
- Thrillville
- TimeSplitters 2
- TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
They join the four games that launched the program on July 22: Blinx: The Time Sweeper, Conker: Live and Reloaded, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge and Fuzion Frenzy. All four of those are on Game Pass.
Microsoft says more original Xbox games are coming to PC “in the future” and gives no names or dates.
Knights of the Old Republic, KOTOR II, Blinx and Conker now have achievements
Achievements arrived with the Xbox 360 in 2005, so no original Xbox game has ever had them. Starting today, four do: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Knights of the Old Republic II, Blinx: The Time Sweeper and Conker: Live and Reloaded.
This is not a PC-only feature. Microsoft says the achievements also apply when you play these games on Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles, once you have the latest system update. “In some cases, achievements may unlock based on progress you’ve already made,” the post adds, which is good news for anyone with an old save.
Microsoft says it worked with each game’s developers and publishers on the achievement lists “to make sure they fit the spirit of each title,” and that it plans to add achievements to more original Xbox games over time.
Players saw this coming. In late October, original Xbox games started showing up in achievement histories at 0 of 0, and both Knights of the Old Republic games were at the top of the community’s wish list.
Crimson Skies and Fuzion Frenzy are still waiting for the achievements Microsoft promised
When the program launched in July, Microsoft said its first four PC games would be updated with achievements “in the coming months.” Two of them, Blinx and Conker, got theirs today. Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge and Fuzion Frenzy are not in today’s list, and the post does not say when they will follow.
Every game now supports mouse and keyboard, and you need Windows 11
All 25 games now support mouse and keyboard. Microsoft also says it has improved performance and stability for the first four games. The games run on handheld PCs too, including the ROG Xbox Ally family.
The fine print: you need Windows 11, the games are available in select markets only, and you may need to buy a game or have Game Pass to play it. Only Morrowind and Grabbed by the Ghoulies are marked as Game Pass titles among today’s 21.
