No, you’re reading correctly. Microsoft’s new Xbox Series X|S consoles do indeed play PlayStation 2 games. The news comes after resourceful users found an ingenious way to install emulators on the new Xbox systems (via VG247).
Backward compatibility is one of the biggest allures of next-gen. Both Sony and Microsoft heavily promoted that the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S can play old games. To be fair, native playback only extends one generation back.
While a number of Xbox and Xbox 360 games also work, they need patches. Sony on the other hand offers virtually no way to play any of their games from the PS1/PS2/PS3 era.
This changes now, however. At least on the Xbox Series X|S. It turns out that without any hacking, there is a way to play PlayStation 2 and other retro games on Microsoft’s new consoles. We highly recommend watching the video by ‘Modern Vintage Gamer’ who explains it in detail.
The gist is, Microsoft basically offers developers the option to turn any regular Xbox into a devkit. These are specialized versions of consoles that allow developers to create games. To enable this ‘Developer Mode’, users have to purchase a fairly cheap $20 activation right from their consoles.
Afterward, you can install signed UWP apps onto the Xbox Series X|S. The way PlayStation 2 works on the new Xbox does exactly that. It uses the popular RetroArch emulator and allows the emulation of tons of other retro platforms.
Sure, at the end of the day, it’s only a smart workaround. But the truth stands that there is no way to play PlayStation 2 games on the PS5, while there is a way on the Xbox Series X|S. Using emulators on consoles isn’t a new thing. But it usually happens after hackers find ways to do so. In this case, there is no hacking or jailbreaking involved.
It remains to be seen whether Sony implements a PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 emulator into the PlayStation 5. So, for now. The Xbox Series X|S is the only next-gen console to play old Sony titles.
