Xbox Series S/X Is A Surprisingly Stellar Platform For Playing Classic PS2 Games

ps2 2
PlayStation enthusiasts were likely disappointed to learn that some PlayStation 4 games may not get updated to run on the PlayStation 5 hardware for better performance. If you want a blast from the past, though, you can now play some classic PlayStation 2 games on the new Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S, thanks to some crafty gamers and handy Xbox features.

Yesterday, a YouTuber by the name of Modern Vintage Gamer posted a video in which he played some PlayStation 2 games on his Xbox Series S. While the video is worth watching overall, we got to see Metal Gear Solid 2, Ace Combat 4, God of War, and several other games from the PS2.
According to Modern Vintage Gamer, this trickery works mainly because of a development feature added to the Xbox platform in 2016. When the Xbox is put into developer mode, anyone can add apps based on the Universal Windows Platform (UWP). One of these UWP apps is an emulator manager called RetroArch, which included a bunch of software for emulating many games. Recently, software called PCSX2 was included in preview-builds of RetroArch so PS2 games could be emulated.

Overall, it is interesting to see some classic games from the PlayStation 2 running pretty well on Xbox hardware. In the 2020 strange fashion, the PS5 still does not have backward compatibility for old PlayStations like the Xbox does now. Perhaps this Xbox emulation will kick Sony into giving PlayStation gamers something they want. In any case, let us know what you think of this new way to play PS2 games in the comments below.
Nathan Ord

Nathan Ord

Nathan Ord is a tech nerd through and through.  Following any technology, from home and business applications to VR, anything is up his alley.  Starting out as the family repair guy and local "tech expert" for those around him, he helped out wherever he could.  Nathan came aboard HotHardware in 2020 and continuously enjoys what he does.  In his free time, he enjoys volunteering, playing video games, and just relaxing with friends. 
Opinions and content posted by HotHardware contributors are their own.