Who said you need to have an Xbox to play Xbox games? All you need is a gaming PC or laptop, a Windows 10, and a decent internet connection. And BAM!! You can load most Xbox 360 games on your system without spending a penny on your game console.
As of now, since Microsoft has merged their consoles and PC software, games are only accessible with Windows 10 (sorry Mac users). So from Forza, Fable Fortune to Halo 4, this is how you can play Xbox 360 Emulator games on your PC.
System Requirements (Minimum):
- PROCESSOR: AMD Ryzen 5. Quad-Core or Intel Core i5
- GPU: AMD Radeon RX 560 or NVIDIA GTX 1050 (VulkanRT compatible)
- RAM: 8 GB
- VRAM: 3 GB
- Storage: 150 GB
- Display: 1080p
- Operating system: Windows 10 – 64 bit
Play Xbox Games With The Emulator
The only reason an emulator exists is to bridge the gap between other gaming devices and your PC. This means that you can play most of the games on your cell phones, Nintendo Switch, or game consoles that are offered on your system.
And this is how you do it:
- Download an XBOX 360 emulator on your Windows device
- Extract/unzip the file
- Open the installation file; you must run it as an administrator.
- Wait a moment and your emulator is installed.
- Now, all you have to do is install the games you want.
While we’re at it, here are some reliable emulators that you can download:
Xenia
Xenia is, overall, the best emulator on our list. We chose Xenia for its performance and for being an open-source program.
Released in March 2014 with its first Xbox 360 game, Frog 2, xenia has shown great promise. But its noticeable rise started in February 2016 when the VulkanRT API was introduced. This API change makes a significant difference in-game performance. Now, Xenia runs more than 90 games, all on Xbox 360.
At the moment, the emulator is only available on Windows and Linux.
CXBXR Emulator
First released in August 2002 and developed by Caustic, CXBX has shown great promise in its glory days. The emulator was easy to install and had smooth graphics. In 2009, the CXBX was discontinued and replaced by the CXBXR.
It is available on 32-bit and 64-bit Windows operating systems. The CXBXR has limited the download of XBOX games to 5 games.
DXBX Emulator
Developed by Delphi, DXBX features source code similar to CXBX. However, the emulator has updated and improved the features of its predecessor. To run the DXBX emulator, a 700 MHz or higher Intel Pentium III processor is required, with 256 MB of memory. The emulator is also available for 32-bit operating systems.
EX360E Xbox 360 E
EX360E made our list for its versatility. It works with Xbox 360 and Xbox One games. Developed with XNA on a .NET framework, the EX360E is top-notch.
It works by creating an executable file directly. This removes the requirement for any virtual device. Unfortunately, the creators discontinued the emulator.
Xeon Emulator
The Xeon emulator for now only runs the Halo game, and I’d say the game is semi-playable. Many claims that the emulator crashes while gaming. Although Xeon is cross-platform and can run on Windows and DOS operating systems, the program does not leave a mark in terms of playability.
Play Xbox games without an emulator
Even if it’s free, emulators have their consequences. And if you don’t want the hassle of running third-party software on your gaming PC, here’s an easy solution.
As I said earlier, Microsoft has a mission to unify all of its platforms. And they have already started their campaign: “Xbox Play Everywhere“.
- You can buy the games from the Xbox Store.
- Many Xbox 36 games are also available on the Windows Store.
- You can also buy your favorite game on the Xbox console and play it on Windows with the same credentials.
