Microsoft is planning to let Xbox 360 games run on PC, according to a leaked document viewed by The Verge and reported by Eurogamer on 4 August 2026. The document, recently sent to developers, outlines a system where studios can toggle backwards compatibility on for their Xbox 360 titles — making them playable on what the company calls "Xbox PCs," a term that likely covers any machine running the Xbox app, including handhelds like the ROG Xbox Ally.

The same document says Xbox 360 games will also run on Project Helix, Microsoft's next-generation Xbox console. Project Helix is expected to launch without a disc drive and is designed to play PC games natively, making original Xbox and Xbox 360 titles on PC a natural extension of that strategy.

Developers will have real control over how their legacy titles reach players. They can make games available for purchase, set their own prices, and decide whether to include them in Game Pass, Microsoft's subscription service that offers a rotating library of titles for a monthly fee.

The rollout won't happen overnight. Microsoft plans to introduce Xbox 360 games on PC gradually between 2027 and 2028, starting with what the document calls "next-gen devices."

This sits alongside a separate but related effort: bringing original Xbox games to PC. Microsoft announced that programme in July 2026, targeting an October 2026 launch, though the initial lineup included just four games, according to The Verge.

The leaked document also addresses a long-discussed disc-to-digital feature for physical game collections. Under the programme, owners of Xbox One and Xbox Series X game discs would be able to insert them into either console to receive a digital copy. The digital licence is bound to both the user's account and the disc itself. If the owner sells or trades the disc, the licence transfers to the new holder and the original owner loses access to the digital version.

This feature does not extend to Xbox 360 or original Xbox discs, according to The Verge. It works only with Xbox One and Series X titles.

The disc-to-digital programme has already slipped its timeline. The leaked document pointed to a public beta in July 2026 and general availability in August 2026, according to The Verge. Neither has materialised. The beta with Xbox Insiders was delayed, and it is unclear whether the August general availability date still stands.

The disc-to-digital concept first drew attention after Sony announced it would end physical PlayStation disc production, intensifying the industry's shift away from physical media. Microsoft closed the Xbox 360 Store and Xbox 360 Marketplace on 29 July 2024, cutting off direct digital purchases on the older console.

For players who have held onto shelves of Xbox 360 discs, the PC plan offers a different proposition — not a way to convert those discs, but a fresh path for developers to bring two-generation-old games to new hardware and storefronts. Whether studios take up that offer, and which titles make the jump, will shape what the legacy of the Xbox 360 looks like on hardware that did not exist when the console launched in 2005.

All of this arrives during a turbulent period for Microsoft's gaming division. The company's July 2026 "reset" of its Xbox business included thousands of layoffs and the sale of four studios, according to The Verge. The backwards-compatibility and PC plans suggest the company is still investing in its back catalogue even as it restructures the studios that make new games.