Xenia developer shoots down official Xbox emulator rumour

This week has been a bit of a wild one in rumour land. A previously reliable source made the bombshell claim that Microsoft had hired the developers behind the Xenia emulator to work on an official Xbox and Xbox 360 emulation tool for PCs and new devices like the Xbox Ally. Unfortunately, it turns out that this rumour may have been all smoke with no fire. 

Extas1s made a name for themselves online in recent years following a string of accurate leaks. However, this particular leak may be more fiction than fact. After claiming that Microsoft had hired developers behind Xbox 360 emulator, Xenia, for a push to bring the ‘Xbox Classics' library to more devices, one of the Xenia team members spoke out. According to Xenia developer ZoloKluk, Microsoft has not hired them and added that “Microsoft has their own Xbox 360 emulator” and would have no need to consult Xenia developers.

Another well known Xbox reporter, Windows Central's Jez Corden, also stated that while Microsoft is known to be looking at ways to bring more Xbox games to more devices, this emulation scenario “isn't a thing at the moment”.

As spotted by Insider Gaming, Extas1s did double down on his original report, claiming that Xenia project contributors were hired by Microsoft through an internal initiative that brings GitHub contributors into Microsoft for various projects. However, Microsoft just announced plans to let go of thousands of employees and has been actively shedding workers for the past 18 months, so it is unclear how reliable this claim really is.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: At this point, I'd be putting my money against the idea that Microsoft is working on a new emulator destined for Windows. However, if Microsoft really does switch to a ‘gaming' version of Windows for the next Xbox, then I wouldn't rule it out in a few years' time. 

Become a Patron!