After 17 years, Sonic Unleashed has finally received a PC port, but this is just the beginning for the entire Xbox 360 legacy.
Fans have created a tool XenonRecomp which can give a second life to many games of that era. Now his main achievement is a fan port of Sonic Unleashed on PC. It supports high resolution, ultra-wide format, and unlocked frame rate.
XenonRecomp takes old Xbox 360 games and converts them into a programming language (C++) that modern computers can understand. The tool allows you to run these games on new computers without using emulators. Ports allow you to improve performance and add support for modern features that emulated versions cannot.
XenonRecomp has the potential to open up huge opportunities if it is actively used. The tool can give a second life to games Xbox 360, which was discontinued in 2016. And the process of porting Xbox 360 will be much easier.
XenonRecomp was created by 17 programmers. Among them is the developer Skyth, who worked on mods for Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix, which was recognized at the Steam Awards 2022. Enthusiasts were inspired by the N64: Recompiled tool, which does something similar for the Nintendo 64. During the year of the latter’s existence, only a few full-fledged ports have appeared on PCs, so it is unknown how popular XenonRecomp will become.
The fate of this tool depends on the fan community. If XenonRecomp gains enough support, we may someday see even more games from the «golden age» Xbox 360 on PC – from Halo 3 and Fable 2 to lesser-known but cult titles. By the way, Microsoft recently showed Fable gameplay, which is expected at least in 2026. Before that, Fable reboot trailer was shown at Summer Game Fest 2024, and The insider hinted at The Witcher 3-style battles.
Source: Games Radar
