As usual, Xbox head Phil Spencer took to Twitter to answer some questions from the console’s massive fanbase. It wasn’t limited to the Xbox platform, however, as one particular question was asked about the possibility of bringing the Xbox One's backwards compatibility feature to Windows 10 PCs.
Twitter user Glenn Edwards asked Spencer if fans would eventually see backwards compatibility on Windows. The feature, which was announced at E3 in 2015, allows fans to play some of their favorite Xbox 360 games on the Xbox One. Spencer's response made it seem as if Microsoft's open to the idea:
“Running BC [Backwards Compatibility] reliably on all the different PC HW [hardware] configs would be a lot more work than XB1, but never say never,” he wrote.
There are currently 325 titles in the backwards compatibility program. More are on the way, and if they make it to the PC, fans will have an even larger catalog of games available on both Windows 10 and Xbox One. Microsoft's already doing something similar with the Xbox Play Anywhere feature, which lets people enjoy games such as Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3, and Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (so long as you buy it digitally), on both platforms.
The project's biggest obstacle would be that the program needed to run Xbox 360 games would have to work across many different PC configurations. (Though it's worth mentioning that some games on the backwards compatibility list have PC counterparts, some of which are still available via Steam.)
It’s unlikely we’ll see this feature come to the PC, but at least the question was brought directly to Spencer, who didn’t refute the idea. At least Microsoft is working to improve the gaming experience for both Xbox One and PC with the upcoming Creators Update, which includes a new livestream service, custom tournaments, and Game Mode, among other things.
