Recently, I covered how the Xbox One could run a PlayStation 5 emulator, or how Original Xbox and Xbox 360 titles were being played on a jailbroken PS5. Now, the tables have turned, and we have Xbox One games running on iOS (and macOS).
In fact, just a few months ago, I wrote about an Xbox 360 emulator for iOS. At the time, that was impressive enough on its own, particularly given it could run games like Halo 3. This new development feels like a natural progression, especially considering how recent advancements in AI have seemingly propelled emulation and modding to a whole new level.
It is a wild timeline we are living in. I do suspect AI is a major driver behind this acceleration, but regardless of the cause, it is still pretty cool to see.
Utsuro, the project bringing Xbox One games to iOS and Mac
The project, created by @leviidev01 on X, works not through traditional emulation, but rather as a translation layer. It runs the console’s own "Windows-derived userland as x86-64 under FEXCore", supplying the system components that the hardware would normally provide. I will admit, some of the deeper technical specifics are lost on me, but the fact that it works at all is fascinating.
For now, the project has been shown running Minecraft with touchscreen controls relatively well, and it does include controller support.
Announcing Utsuro, run Xbox One games on iOS.It’s in the early works, but can already run Minecraft: Xbox One Edition extremely well. I’ve attached a video below, you don’t want to miss this.GitHub: https://t.co/X53sB3nRoODiscord: https://t.co/hLgRwHNVB0pic.twitter.com/dOqY620jj5October 18, 2026
Thinking back to the Xbox One era, it was around the time Xbox began porting its games to PC. That makes it hard for me to pinpoint exactly which Xbox One titles I would want to take on the go. However, projects like this serve as a stark reminder of just how shortsighted Microsoft was in shuttering Windows Phone.
Given the sheer volume of IP at Microsoft’s disposal now, having a dedicated smartphone capable of legitimately playing Original Xbox, Xbox 360, and even Xbox One games with full cloud saves and achievement support would have been a unique selling point.
I do think it could have really given Microsoft a genuine edge. Instead, we are seeing community projects fill that void, while Android devices are busy running full-blown Steam games. All I can do is shed a tear over what could have been.
Still, I’d be interested to know what you think. What Xbox One games would you like to see running on iOS or even Android? If anything comes to mind, let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to take part in our poll!
Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.
