Hello my fellow tech enthusiasts, it’s your favorite funny guy Nuked here to talk about Microsoft’s latest move regarding game emulation on the Xbox Series X and Series S. It seems that Microsoft has decided to lock down game emulation on their consoles, barring users from running emulated content.

Twitter user @gamr12, who’s involved with the distribution of the RetroArch emulation software on Xbox, posted an error message they received when attempting to launch emulated content. The message reads, “Unable to launch this game or app. The game or app you’re trying to launch violates Microsoft Store policy and is not supported.” Other users with emulation software on the Xbox Series X | S report running into the same issue.

When Microsoft first launched the Xbox Series X | S in 2020, users found that they could install and run emulation software. This made it possible to play a whole range of classic titles on the Xbox Series X | S, including games from the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Wii, and others. But now it seems this nearly three-year run has come to an end.

As pointed out by @gamr12, you can still emulate games on the Xbox Series X | S, but only if you put the device in Developer Mode, which you have to pay for. Microsoft seems to have only gotten rid of the option when the console’s put in Retail Mode, something all users can switch on for free with a little technical know-how.

While it’s still not clear what prompted the change, some speculate that the reason for the ban is Nintendo. Alyanna, an active emulator fan who says she is a Microsoft Azure developer, claims she contacted an unnamed “friend at the Xbox QA team” about the issue weeks ago, who said the primary reason for the ban is related to legal issues with Nintendo.

Microsoft’s rules technically don’t allow emulations, but the company typically looked the other way in the past, according to Kotaku. “We continually evolve our mechanisms for reviewing and taking enforcement actions on content distributed to the Store to ensure alignment with our Microsoft Store Policies,” Microsoft tells Kotaku. “Per 10.13.10, Products that emulate a game system or game platform are not allowed on any device family,” Microsoft says.

If Nintendo is indeed the catalyst behind Microsoft’s decision, it wouldn’t be surprising. Nintendo has long been strict about emulated games, unless, of course, the company can create and profit off of them (see: NES/SNES Mini, Nintendo Switch Online game packages, etc.). Nintendo notably sued the RomUniverse website for $1.2 million in 2019 and went after Gary Bowser, a Canadian hacker selling Switch hacks, who has agreed to pay $10 million in fines and is currently serving a 40-month prison sentence.

So, it seems that game emulation on Xbox Series X | S is now a thing of the past, at least for those who don’t want to pay for Developer Mode. While some may be disappointed by this news, it’s important to remember that companies like Microsoft and Nintendo have their own policies and legal considerations to uphold. As always, stay tuned for more tech news and updates from yours truly, Nuked.