Microsoft has marked 25 years of Xbox by putting 21 more original Xbox games on Windows PCs, including both Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and TimeSplitters 2. That takes its Xbox Backward Compatibility on PC library from four games to 25, and four of those classics now earn Xbox achievements for the first time.
The PC games headlined a batch of anniversary announcements at Xbox’s FanFest event in Seattle on 12 November (US time), which also confirmed that Wolfenstein 3 is in production. Here’s what was announced, what you need to play the old games on a PC in Australia, and what they cost here.
What Microsoft announced for Xbox’s 25th
The original Xbox went on sale in North America on 15 November 2001, and reached Australia in March 2002. Microsoft’s announcements, published on Xbox Wire and timed ahead of that anniversary, included:
- 21 more original Xbox games playable on Windows 11 PCs, for a total of 25, with mouse and keyboard support across all of them.
- Achievements for the first time in four original Xbox games, on PC and on Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles.
- Wolfenstein 3 confirmed as “in production” at MachineGames, and a new id Software game in development (more on both below).
- A free Firefight survival mode for Halo: Campaign Evolved, coming in a free Winter Update, plus new gameplay from Playground Games’ Fable.
- Xbox Playback, a look back at each player’s Xbox history, including their first game, total time played and longest streak.
- Free 25th-anniversary items in games including Forza Horizon 6, Halo: Campaign Evolved, Gears of War: E-Day, Minecraft and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.
The 25 original Xbox games you can now play on PC
In its Xbox Wire post, Microsoft says these 21 games are available “in supported countries” from 12 November (US time):
- Armed and Dangerous
- Disney’s Chicken Little
- The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (also in Game Pass)
- Grabbed by the Ghoulies (also in Game Pass)
- Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb
- Red Faction II
- Secret Weapons Over Normandy
- Star Wars Battlefront
- Star Wars Battlefront II
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
- Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
- Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
- Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords
- Star Wars: Republic Commando
- Star Wars: Starfighter – Special Edition
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars
- Thrillville
- TimeSplitters 2
- TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
They join the four games that started the program in July, all of which are also in Game Pass: Blinx: The Time Sweeper, Conker: Live and Reloaded, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge and Fuzion Frenzy. Microsoft says it has also improved performance and stability for those first four. Eleven of the 21 new additions are Star Wars games.
Microsoft says it isn’t finished: “We are going to bring even more original XBOX games to PC in the future.” It hasn’t said which games, or when. Windows Central noted that fan favourites such as Singularity and Skylanders weren’t part of this batch.
Achievements for games more than 20 years old
The original Xbox had no achievement system; it arrived with the Xbox 360. Microsoft has now added achievements to four original Xbox games: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords, Blinx: The Time Sweeper and Conker: Live and Reloaded.
They work on PC and on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S consoles after the latest system update. Microsoft says “In some cases, achievements may unlock based on progress you’ve already made.” It says it designed the achievements with each game’s developers and publishers, and plans to add them to more original Xbox games over time.
What you need to play them on a PC in Australia
Australia is one of the markets where these games can be bought for PC. When we checked the Australian Xbox store on the evening of 13 November, the listings for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and TimeSplitters 2 each showed a price of AU$14.95 and listed PC as a supported platform. Prices for the other games vary, and Microsoft says “Game purchase or Game Pass subscription may be required.” Of the 21 new additions, only Morrowind and Grabbed by the Ghoulies are marked as Game Pass titles. If you’re weighing up a subscription, our look at Game Pass in Australia covers the local pricing.
The Knights of the Old Republic store listing gives these PC requirements:
- Windows 11 version 26200.8117 or later (64-bit). Windows 10 is not supported.
- Minimum: Nvidia GTX 950, AMD Radeon RX 550 or Intel Arc A310 graphics; a four-core, eight-thread processor such as an Intel Core i3-10300 or AMD Ryzen 3 3100; 8GB RAM and 4GB of video memory.
- Recommended: Nvidia GTX 1070 Ti, AMD Radeon RX 6800S or Intel Arc A770; a six-core, 12-thread processor such as an Intel Core i5-10400 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600; 16GB RAM. An Xbox controller or gamepad is recommended.
Those are modest specs by today’s standards, and Microsoft says the games also run on handheld gaming PCs such as the ROG Xbox Ally family. Two things to know before you buy. First, as The Verge points out, your old original Xbox discs won’t unlock the PC versions, so you need a digital copy. Second, these are the original games rather than remasters. On consoles, Microsoft’s backward compatibility FAQ says original Xbox Live features such as online multiplayer aren’t available in original Xbox games, though offline multiplayer modes that the original game supported can still work; Microsoft’s PC announcement doesn’t say whether that differs on PC. The Verge also reports that the PC versions appear to run through an emulator; Microsoft didn’t describe the technology in its post.
Wolfenstein 3 and id Software’s next game
The biggest new-game news came from Bethesda. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said, in comments published by Bethesda: “Wolfenstein 3 is officially in production at MachineGames. One of gaming’s most important franchises, and a team that has done remarkable work bringing it forward. Looking forward to sharing more.”
MachineGames confirmed that Brian Bloom and Debra Wilson are returning as BJ Blazkowicz and Grace Walker. There’s no release date, platform list or trailer yet. As The Verge notes, the last mainline game, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, came out in 2017. The announcement comes days after Bethesda confirmed that the next Elder Scrolls game will be called The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel.
Sharma also confirmed that id Software’s next game is in development, and id says Hugo Martin will return as game director. The game hasn’t been named. In the nearer term, Bethesda says Doom: The Dark Ages gets a free Slaughter Mode on 16 November (it didn’t give an Australian time) for owners of the Revelations DLC, the Premium Edition or the Premium Upgrade.
Our read
In our view, the original-Xbox-on-PC push is the most useful part of this anniversary for Australian players. AU$14.95 for an officially supported, legally sold copy of Knights of the Old Republic that runs on a Windows 11 PC or handheld is a fair deal, and achievements give long-time fans a fresh reason to replay. The catch is that it’s still a curated, paid catalogue of 25 games, not a way to play everything you already own on disc. Wolfenstein 3, meanwhile, is a confirmation rather than a reveal: until MachineGames shows the game and names its platforms, there isn’t much to judge.
Featured image: The original Xbox console with its “S” controller (2014 photo of the 2001 console, not supplied by Microsoft). Photo: Evan-Amos via Wikimedia Commons, released into the public domain by the photographer; resized and converted to PNG. Xbox is a trademark of Microsoft, used here for editorial identification only. Prices were checked on the Australian Xbox store on 13 November 2026 and may change.
