Xbox One emulators

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Xbox One
Xbox-One.png
Developer Microsoft
Type Home video game console
Generation Eighth generation
Release date 2013
Discontinued 2020
Predecessor Xbox 360
Successor Xbox One X & S
Emulated
For emulators that run on the Xbox One, see Emulators on Xbox One.

The Xbox One is an eighth-generation home video game console produced by Microsoft on November 22, 2013, and was retailed for US$499 (equivalent to $652.58 in 2024). It had an AMD 8-core APU at 1.75 GHz and 8 GB of RAM. It has an AMD GPU at 853 MHz on the AMD Radeon GCN architecture. Early in its life, it was heavily criticized for intrusive DRM, such as always-online and lack of used game sharing. These have since been removed. Notably, this console runs on the x86 architecture with a modified Windows OS, so it is essentially a watered-down PC.

Emulators and compatibility layers

Name Platform(s) Latest version One X/S Hardware features
and peripherals
Enhancements Compatibility License Active Recommended
WinDurango Windows git N/A GPLv3 (Copyleft)
XWine1 Windows git (WIP, currently private)
(Not yet)
6 playable titles N/A
WinEra ? N/A N/A ? ?
Spasaha ? N/A N/A ? ?
??? ? N/A N/A ? ?

Native

Name Latest Version One X/S Hardware features
and peripherals
Enhancements Compatibility License Active Recommended
Xbox Series X/S Patch based ~ 99%[N 1] Proprietary
Xbox One X/S Patch based Native ~ 100% Proprietary
  1. Kinect games are incompatible. See Hardware features and peripherals.

Comparisons

WinDurango
WinDurango (formerly "XBONEmu")[1] is a compatibility layer and still in early development. Following recent news about the ability to dump Xbox One games, the project lead has decided to relaunch and seek additional C++ developers with expertise in Windows internals. Currently unknown in terms of how many people are involved - stands out as the only compatibility layer that is currently open source.
XWine1
XWine1, an Xbox One translation layer for Windows PCs. Currently, it has a limited number of fully playable compatible games, with others reaching logos and in-game. It was also recently shown that Forza Horizon 3 was able to get to the menu - and it was the Xbox One Enhanced edition, opening possibilities for Xbox One Enhanced games to play on XWine1. [2][3]
WinEra
Developed by a single person, this was the first compatibility layer to successfully run Minecraft: Xbox One Edition on PC.
Spasaha
Focused primarily on Destiny 1, one person also develops this layer with additional support.
???[4]
This layer, developed by one person with some help, was notably used to play Tomb Raider Remastered, making it the first game to run on PC outside of DirectX samples. This translator doesn't have a name; it is only named ‘Durango’ at the top of the window.
Native
Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One X/S
Since Xbox One and later, Microsoft consoles utilize a cut-down version of Windows, they can all natively run Xbox One backwards compatible games. However, games made before 2015 are running legacy Windows 8 games which are different to Windows 10 onwards, Microsoft probably made compatibility layers or updated games to the new Windows 10 platform.

Enhancements

Name Xbox Series X/S
Xbox One X/S
Graphics Resizable Internal Resolution [N2 1]
Texture Replacement
Ultrawide hack
Widescreen already supported on Xbox One system.
But there is no support by system for render games in other ratios such as ultrawide 21:9 or super ultrawide 32:9.
Ray-tracing
(DXR, VRT and MRT)
Implementing ray-tracing in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be possible soon.
However, you can try "Screen-Space Ray Traced Global Illumination" shader using ReShade.
Pre-rendering AA
(MSAA, SSAA)
Super-resolution techniques
(DLSS, XeSS and FSR 2+)
FSR 2 is already supported on Xbox One (X/S).[5]
Implementing advanced one for emulator requires access to the depth buffer and temporal data like motion-vectors, so it is quite challenging and unlikely to be possible soon.
RTX Remix Implementing RTX Remix technology in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future.
Performance Internal Framerate Hack [N2 1]
Frame generation technologies
(LSFG, DLSS-G, ExtraSS and AFMF)
Implementing frame generation technology in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future, however post-processing techniques such as motion interpolation is quite possible. Input latency will be a crucial factor, but its impact likely varies depending on the specific technique used, it is recommended to use after applying the "Internal Framerate Hack".
Rendering latency reduction technologies
(LatencyFleX, Reflex and Anti-Lag+)
While most emulators offer frame pacing or framebuffer latency control options, implementing rendering latency reduction technologies isn't currently feasible. This is likely doesn't offer enough benefits to justify the development effort.
Overclock
Post-Processing Post-rendering AA
(FXAA, TXAA and MLAA/SMAA)
?
Post-rendering scaling
(Sharp bilinear, Lanczos and FSR 1)
?
Filters
AI-powered filter compatible
(Freestyle)
Shader Chain
Inverse tone mapping compatible
Even though Xbox One has no support for HDR, Xbox One X|S and Series X|S systems supports it in some games[6].
TAS features Macros/Scripts/Lua
Rewind
Fast-Forward/Turbo Speed
Savestates
Movie recording/playback
Quality of life Pause/Resume Emulation ?
Built-in Custom resolution/CRTSwitchRes
For using this on Windows OS you need CRT Emudriver.
Another option is using EDID editor tool such as "Custom Resolution Utility".
N/A
Eighth gen home consoles and beyond only have digital video output anyway.
Streamable compression format
Built-in mod editor and manager
Built-in Cheat Manager
Built-in Patch Manager
Per-Game Profiles
Command Line Options
Big Picture Mode
Controls Mouse Injector Compatible
Input lag-mitigating technique
Misc RetroAchievements
EmuVR support Exclusive to libretro cores. So there is no support at the moment.
AI Service
With the help of OCR and other techniques, the AI service can provide a live translation of a game, or text-to-speech capabilities for the visually impaired among other things, either on demand or automatically.
Exclusive to libretro cores at the moment. So there is no support.
Free Look
Free Look is an enhancement feature that allows manipulation of the in-game camera.
While freecam would be technically possible, it will require per-game patches.
Said patches would require a significant amount of time to reverse the game's engine, which means that only someone talented with enough dedication to a single game could do it.
Debug Features
  1. 1.0 1.1 Titles that are backward compatible are supports; AutoHDR, FPS Boost and improved resolution.

Hardware features and peripherals

Name Xbox Series X/S Xbox One X/S
Dashboard and apps
Achievements
Xbox Live
System Link
Xbox and Xbox 360 emulation
(Fission)
Kinect
Blu-ray drive
Xbox SmartGlass
USB Keyboard & Mouse
LEGO Dimensions Toy Pad ? ?
Skylanders Portal ? ?
Disney Infinity Base ? ?
Xbox One X|S exclusive features
Ultra HD Blu-ray drive Native
Xbox One X|S Enhanced games Native

Dashboard and apps

Xbox: Experience
tcrf - Xbox One Dashboard Revisions
Wikipedia - List of Xbox One and Series X/S applications

The Dashboard is a graphical user interface developed for Xbox One. You can launch various applications from this interface as well. Also, Xbox One supports media streaming (music, photos and videos) with PC using Groove Music and Movies & TV apps.

  • The Xbox One's Dashboard is also used by the Xbox Series X/S, but with a dynamic theme feature and a different home screen[7]. Some apps aren't compatible with Xbox Series X|S though, see this page.

Blu-ray drive

Xbox One console support for BD-Video, Audio CD, DVD-Video and XGD4. However it does not have the capability to play HD-DVD and VCDs.

System Link

Xlink Kai - Xbox One supported games

Kinect

The Kinect sensor and Kinect Adapter have been discontinued. You can still use your Kinect with your Xbox 360, Xbox One or One X|S.

Xbox One X/S

Xbox One X and Xbox One S
Xbox-One-X&S.jpeg
Developer Microsoft
Type Home video game console
Generation Eighth generation
Release date 2016-7
Discontinued 2020
Predecessor Xbox One
Successor Xbox Series X|S
Emulated

The Xbox One X and Xbox One S are part of the eighth generation of home video game consoles (similar to PlayStation 4 Pro) produced by Microsoft. These consoles are often seen as a mid-gen refresh - sort of an eight-and-a-half generation console. The Xbox One X was released on November 7th, 2017 and featured upgraded specifications compared to the original Xbox One, including a more powerful GPU, increased RAM, and support for 4K gaming. The Xbox One S, released the year before on the 2nd of August 2016, offered improvements in design and size, as well as added support for HDR and 4K video playback.

The Xbox One X released with an AMD 8-core APU at 2.3 GHz, 12 GB RAM, and an AMD GPU at 1.172 GHz based on the AMD Radeon RX architecture. It was marketed as the most powerful console on the market at the time of its release in November 2017, with a retail price of $499.

On the other hand, the Xbox One S released with an AMD 8-core APU at 1.75 GHz, 8 GB RAM, and an AMD GPU at 914 MHz based on the AMD Radeon GCN architecture. It was marketed as a more affordable option compared to the Xbox One X, with support for 4K video streaming and HDR gaming. The Xbox One S was released with a price tag of $299.

Xbox One X/S exclusive features

Xbox One X/S Enhanced games

The Xbox One X and Xbox One S offer enhancements such as improved graphics, higher resolutions, and better performance compared to the original Xbox One.

  • Unless files for these enhancements are dumped, these enhancements aren't supported by WinDurango compatibility layer for emulation.

Ultra HD Blu-ray drive

Xbox One X|S consoles support for BD-Video and DVD-Video. However, it doesn't have the capability to play HD-DVD and VCDs. It has Ultra HD Blu-ray drive, so naturally it supports UHD-BD.

  • Series X|S consoles support for BD-Video, DVD-Video and UHD-BD.
  • See this dedicated page for more information about home media playback support for emulation software.

Emulation issues

With the Xbox One, Microsoft had two important security goals in mind, to prevent piracy and cheating (these can be seen in the company's Guarding Against Physical Attacks video). To achieve this, much of the hardware was modified to prevent tampering. On the software side, the Xbox One used a new XVD (Xbox Virtual Drive) format to store its operating systems, SystemOS (runs a cut-down version of Windows), HostOS (manages the other two) and GameOS (runs game titles). For the storing of Xbox One titles, the console used another format (XVCs or Xbox Virtual Containers) to store games on Blu-ray discs. With all this security, it became a challenge to homebrew the console. For technical Xbox One research, see the Xbox One Research Wiki.

At least part of the Xbox One's optical disc drive source code leaked in 2020 ("Damien's XDK leak", "XSec", "xsec.rar" leak). Damien confirmed this came from wack0's 2017 Microsoft hack. It is impressive how long the Xbox One held up compared to literally any other console in history. However, on May 15, 2024, baw released an Xbox One dumping exploit. This was used to dump games when Collateral Damage came out. Now, Xbox One games have been dumped and decrypted.[9][10]

It should also be noted that the vast majority of Xbox One games are also available on PC (similar to PlayStation 4 (Pro), PlayStation 5 (Pro) and Xbox Series X|S situations in recent years), so there is increased lack of interest to emulate the console. Having said that, there are still a considerable number of games exclusive to those consoles, this includes games for both PlayStation 4 (Pro) and Xbox One (X|S) that haven't been ported and titles lacking enhanced/next-gen update for PC. See List of notable ports#Console multi-platform exclusives section for all of those games.

Running UWP apps without emulation

By going to X:\ and copying app files, users could dump a range of system packages such as the Xbox One version of the Microsoft Store. To run these apps, all a user needed to do was to change the application's information file, or AppXManifest from Windows.Xbox to say, Windows.Desktop and well and removing Xbox only parts of the manifest, and certain applications would run but with a lack of input. The same dumping methods probably don't work for important system packages or games, as they're placed in a more secure location and may need compatibility layers to run.

For more information about Xbox One (X|S) system and reverse engineering;

See also

Icon Xbox.png
Consoles: XboxXbox 360Xbox One (X|S)‡ • Xbox Series (X|S)‡
Operating systems: MS-DOSWindows 9x (95/98/ME)Windows 2000/XP/VistaWindows 7/8/8.1/10/11
Home computers: MSX