Knights of the Old Republic, Morrowind and TimeSplitters 2 Now Run on Windows PCs Through Xbox Backward Compatibility

Xbox turns 25 on November 15, and Microsoft marked it early by bringing 21 more original Xbox games to Windows. They join the four that arrived in July, for 25 in all. The list has a lot of Star Wars, plus Morrowind, both TimeSplitters games and Conker. They run through the Xbox app on Windows 11, and that includes handhelds like the ROG Xbox Ally.

Which games are on the list?

Star Wars fans did best. Eleven of the 21 new games are Star Wars, and both Knights of the Old Republic games are in there, along with Republic Commando and both classic Battlefronts. The bigger news is TimeSplitters 2 and Future Perfect, which have never had a PC release of their own.

Morrowind is here too, the Xbox version this time, with Game Pass covering it. And if you missed Conker the first time around, it came in July with Crimson Skies and BLiNX. Here’s the full list, with what’s in Game Pass and what Steam already sells as a separate PC release.

Microsoft says more are coming. It hasn’t said which.

How much do they cost?

Ten dollars, for most of them. Twenty of the 25 are $9.99 in the US Microsoft Store, and that’s what Steam charges for most of the overlap too, so price won’t decide it for you. On November 12, three were cheaper, Red Faction II only because it was on sale. The last two, Armed and Dangerous and the Emperor’s Tomb, weren’t for sale yet at all.

You might already own some of these. If you bought one digitally on your Xbox, check your library in the Xbox app before you pay again. When the first four arrived, Microsoft said digital copies you own on console carry over to PC, and the new games are sold the same way, as one listing for console and PC. The odd one out right now is Jedi Outcast, which on November 12 was still listed for Xbox only.

Should you buy these, or the Steam versions?

If a game is on both, think about where you play. On a Steam Deck or anything else running SteamOS, the Steam version is the one you can install, because the Xbox app doesn’t run there. That settles it for a lot of handheld owners.

On Windows, the Xbox versions have a draw of their own. They’re the console games, with Microsoft’s additions on top, and both Knights of the Old Republic games now have achievements that count on your Xbox too. If you care about those, or you already own the console version, go Xbox. If you want mods or already own it on Steam, stick with Steam.

For TimeSplitters, Conker and the rest of the “No” column, there’s nothing to compare. This is it.

Will your PC or handheld run them?

Probably. These are 20-year-old games, and Microsoft’s minimum is modest: a graphics card about as fast as a budget one from ten years ago, a four-core, eight-thread processor and 8GB of RAM. The base ROG Xbox Ally’s chip is on the minimum list, and the ROG Xbox Ally X’s is on the recommended one.

They run through the Xbox PC app, which still sent me reaching for a keyboard on my original ROG Ally, so keep one nearby.

What else changed?

Achievements, finally. For the first time, four original Xbox games have them: both Knights of the Old Republic games, BLiNX and Conker. They count on Xbox One and Series consoles too, once you install the latest system update, and Microsoft says some may unlock from progress you’ve already made.

Every game also supports mouse and keyboard now. The four July games got graphics options at launch, like up to 4x resolution, VSync and windowed mode. For the new batch, Microsoft only says features vary by game, so don’t count on the same options in every one until people have tried them.