Gamers Can Now Natively Run Xbox 360 Games on Their PCs Using XenonRecomp

XenonRecomp, a tool that converts Xbox 360 executables into code that a PC can run, was unveiled on GitHub. According to the developers, this project was heavily inspired by the N64: Recompiled tool which does the same thing, but for Nintendo 64 executables.

Players relying on emulation to be able to play Xbox 360 games now have another option that’s much more enticing. However, installing the game to their system might be a lot more complicated than just booting up an emulator and loading a file.

For example, a Sonic Unleashed project for the PC–Unleashed Recomplied–is also receiving the same amount of attention as XenonRecomp tool because the game was recompiled using it. This allows players to play Sonic Unleashed on PC.

However, just to run it, players will need to have a working Xbox 360 console, an Xbox 360 Hard Drive, an Xbox 360 Hard Drive Transfer Cable, and Sonic Unleashed for Xbox 360. The copy of the game doesn’t have to be physical, but the project only supports the EU and the US versions of the game.

After that, players will have to follow specific instructions which involve downloading a program, grabbing the game from their Xbox 360 Hard Drive, and placing it on their PC. Players will also have to make sure that their game files aren’t modified as the Sonic Unleashed installer will not be able to finish its job if it detects modifications.

Since the Sonic Unleashed project was using XenonRecomp, it’s safe to say that players will have to go through this process anytime they have an Xbox 360 game that they want to install on their PC.

While the overwhelming majority of titles released for Xbox and Xbox 360 are still playable on modern hardware via backwards compatibility, dozens of games, including Condemned 2 and Eternal Sonata can only be run on seventh generation consoles.

XenonRecomp was first unveiled in September 2024 with the highest number of commits happening on September 8 of that same year. It’s safe to assume that the tool was in active development during that time. The commits of recent months have been very low, signaling that the project might have reached its final iteration.