The next Xbox could play every Xbox game ever made

GamingCloseGamingPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GamingEntertainmentCloseEntertainmentPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All EntertainmentReportCloseReportPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All ReportThe next Xbox could play every Xbox game ever madeA leaked memo shows Microsoft asking publishers nicely to let it.A leaked memo shows Microsoft asking publishers nicely to let it.by Sean HollisterCloseSean HollisterSenior EditorPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Sean HollisterAug 4, 2026, 11:00 AM UTCLinkShareGiftPhoto by Amelia Holowaty KralesPart OfXbox’s ‘reset’: all the news about Microsoft’s layoffs and studio changessee all updates Sean HollisterCloseSean HollisterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Sean Hollister is a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.The next Xbox, Project Helix, could theoretically have the largest library of any home console. Not only will it play PC games, but we now know, courtesy of a leaked memo obtained by The Verge’s Tom Warren, that it will run games from every generation of Xbox: the original 2001 Xbox, the 2005 Xbox 360, the 2013 Xbox One, and the 2020 Xbox Series, as well as any new Helix titles.We already knew that Microsoft was bringing a limited sample of original Xbox games to PC, and we already knew it was prepping a way to digitize your Xbox One and Xbox Series discs. The leak fills in the missing puzzle pieces.Microsoft is bringing Xbox 360 games to PC, too, and explicitly states that those games will run on Helix in addition to “Xbox PCs.” The document also clearly states that your digitized Xbox One and Xbox Series discs can follow you to “any Xbox device,” so Helix will get those too. Five generations of Xbox games under one roof.“You keep rights, pricing, and brand control.” Image: MicrosoftBut before you get too excited about “backwards compatibility,” you should know this isn’t the same as sticking a PS4 disc in your PS5 (or a Switch cartridge in your Switch 2) and pressing play.First, Helix may not have a disc drive at all. Last we heard, Microsoft is still deciding that.Second, it appears that these forms of backwards compatibility are at the mercy of game publishers. The leaked memo is Microsoft trying to convince those publishers by dangling profit in front of their eyes.The memo is literally addressed to publishers, and it’s transparently a sales pitch. One section is titled “Why publishers win.” Spoiler: Publishers primarily win because they can sell old games like they’re new again.“Dormant SKUs become live, purchasable products again.” Image: MicrosoftEven with the disc-to-digital where publishers presumably don’t get a new sale, Microsoft offers a carrot: “Turn physical disc owners into digital customers” is the company’s sales pitch there. Maybe Johnny won’t buy a new copy of Mass Effect from you, EA, but perhaps he’ll buy five future games digitally!Don’t get me wrong, it’s good that Microsoft has carrots to dangle here. Because it sounds like the Xbox maker can’t even convert Xbox discs to digital without that publisher buy-in.Though Microsoft says publishers don’t need to lift a finger to make disc-to-digital work — “Publisher action: none required,” it writes. Microsoft says early on that both of its new game preservation programs require opt-in.“You, the Publisher, keeps full control over rights, pricing, and brand.“ Image: MicrosoftWith original Xbox and Xbox 360 games, Microsoft is even more explicit: Publishers will have to give their permission for each and every title, decide how much they shoul