On Wednesday, Xbox announced that it was bringing classic games to PC for the first time in the form of Backward Compatibility.
The feature, which was launched on July 22, includes four games with more to come later on. In addition to the feature’s announcement and the first batch of games, Xbox revealed the system requirements in order to take advantage of Xbox backward compatibility on PC without issues.
Xbox Backward Compatibility PC Requirements
Based on the specifications, players won’t need the most powerful machine to play the classic games. The requirements also make it so those with handhelds can play the games as well.
Minimum system requirements:
- GPU: Nvidia GTX 950 or AMD Radeon RX 550 or Intel UHD 770 or Intel Arc A310
- CPU: Min 4 Cores Intel Core i3-8100 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200 or AMD Ryzen™ Z2 A Processor
- RAM: 8GB
- OS: Windows 11
- Drivers and Versions: Latest Version as of January 2026
Recommended specifications:
- GPU: Radeon RX 68005 or Nvidia GTX 1070 Ti or Intel Arc A770
- CPU: 6 cores and 12 threads Intel Core i5-10400 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme
- DirectX Version: DirectX12 API, Hardware Feature Level 11
- GPU VRAM: 8GB
- OS: Windows 11
- Drivers and Versions: Latest Version as of January 2026
Are you going to check out the original Xbox games that are available for PC? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion in the official Insider Gaming Discord.
In other news, Stalker 2 developer GSC Game World has shut down claims that Xbox paid more than the game’s development cost to make it exclusive. And for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.
Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012, and has reported on some of the largest events in the industry while also working as an investigative reporter. Outside of…
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