Twenty-five classic Xbox games just landed on Windows PC, and four of them finally have achievements for the first time ever.
Microsoft released 25 original Xbox games on PC starting November 12, 2026, adding 21 new titles to its backward compatibility library in supported countries. The rollout celebrates 25 years of Xbox and includes fan favorites like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.
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Twenty-one new games join the PC library in one day
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Xbox Wire broke the news directly: "Today, 21 more original XBOX games are coming to PC, bringing the XBOX Backward Compatibility on PC library to 25 games as we celebrate 25 years of XBOX." That single sentence tells the whole story. Microsoft didn't trickle these out over months. They dropped all 21 at once, turning a small four-game test program into a real library overnight.
The new additions lean heavily into Star Wars. Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel, The Sith Lords, are both there. So are both Battlefront games, Jedi Academy, Jedi Outcast, Republic Commando, and several more Lucasfilm titles. Outside of Star Wars, players get Morrowind, Red Faction II, TimeSplitters 2, TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, Thrillville, Armed and Dangerous, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, and a handful of others. Four games were already on PC before this update: Blinx: The Time Sweeper, Conker: Live & Reloaded, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, and Fuzion Frenzy.
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Original Xbox games on PC need digital copies, not old discs
Here's the part that trips people up. You can't dig out your old Xbox disc and expect it to work. The Verge put it plainly, noting players can play the 25 games on a Windows PC "as long as you have (or are willing to pay) for digital copies." Physical original Xbox or Xbox 360 discs simply don't work with this system.
That means anyone wanting to replay Republic Commando or Morrowind on their gaming laptop needs to either already own a digital license tied to their account or buy one fresh. Two of the new titles, Morrowind and Grabbed by the Ghoulies, are also included with Xbox Game Pass, so subscribers get those without an extra purchase. The rest require ownership outside of Game Pass, based on Microsoft's own announcement.
Achievements arrive for Xbox classics that never had them
This update isn't just about adding more games to play. Microsoft also turned on achievements for four original Xbox titles for the very first time: 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 & Reloaded. These games launched decades ago, long before Xbox even had an achievement system, so this is genuinely new functionality bolted onto old software.
The Verge highlighted this detail specifically, pointing out that Microsoft is "adding achievements to original" Xbox games as part of the same update. And it's not just a PC thing. The same achievement support rolled out to Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles after a system update, meaning players on modern consoles get the same new trophies as PC players chasing completion lists.
A quarter century of Xbox shapes the timing
None of this happened in a vacuum. Microsoft first opened the door to original Xbox games on PC back on July 22, 2026, with a smaller batch covering Conker: Live and Reloaded, Crimson Skies, and a couple others for supported handheld devices and PCs in select regions. That earlier release was really a pilot program, testing the waters before committing to a bigger library.
November 12, 2026 is when that pilot turned into something real, and the date wasn't random. It lines up with Xbox's 25th anniversary, giving Microsoft a clean marketing hook to justify pushing out so many licensed games at once, especially the Star Wars catalog, which required separate licensing cooperation from Lucasfilm. Windows Central's coverage specifically called out Knights of the Old Republic, its sequel, Morrowind, and Blinx as standout picks in the new lineup, reflecting how much nostalgia is driving interest in this release.
What Xbox players should watch for next
Microsoft hasn't announced a 26th game, a fixed expansion schedule, or a promise to eventually bring every original Xbox game to PC. The November 12 announcement focused entirely on confirming availability of these 25 titles in supported countries, without hinting at exact future additions.
Still, the achievement rollout feels like a template Microsoft could reuse for other legacy games down the road. Players curious about new entries should keep an eye on regional rollout news, Game Pass updates, and whether more handheld devices get official support. For now, anyone wanting to revisit Republic Commando or finally finish Knights of the Old Republic II with achievements turned on has a clear, if digital-only, path to do it.
