There has been a lot of talk recently about Microsoft consolidating its console and PC gaming experiences under a single Windows-based OS —with speculation being fuelled by the likes of the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally, which is as much a Windows PC as it is an Xbox gaming console. The most recent addition to the long list of leaks and rumors comes from ubiquitous leaker, NateDrake , on the ResetEra forum, who claims that Microsoft is investing significant resources to make "legacy" Xbox games playable on Windows and the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally. Allegedly, legacy games here refer to games that were originally published for the original Xbox and the Xbox 360.

The leaker is confident that there is work being done towards backwards compatibility behind the scenes, but it's currently unclear to what extent this is being pursued and how successful it will be, but Microsoft's backwards compatibility within the Xbox game library was a strong selling point for the company until the backwards compatibility program was ended in 2021. Prior leaks about backwards compatibility indicate that the solution might come in the form of an emulator. Given the potential consolidation of Windows and Xbox game consoles, legacy Xbox games on Windows would also mean backwards compatibility for the next-gen Xbox console, which is slated to be in-house hardware .