Although the Xbox 360 and the Windows operating system are both Microsoft products, still you cannot play the Xbox 360 games solely on a Windows 10 running personal computer. To make it possible, you need an Xbox 360 emulator for the PC. In this article, we look at some of the Xbox 360 emulators for personal computers that you can use to play your favorite Xbox 360 video games on a personal computer.
Xbox 360 is one of the famous gaming consoles offered by the operating system giant Microsoft.
The first Xbox in its lineup was launched by Microsoft in the year 2001.
Earlier than this, Sony Corporation’s PlayStation series was a much famous gaming console but after the launch of Xbox, PlayStation has faced top-notch competition in the market for high-end gaming consoles.
And while there are few things that each one offers over the other, the thing that is similar between the two is the use of emulators by gaming geeks to play their video games on a personal computer.
In this article, we list down some of the best emulators for playing the Xbox 360 games on a PC.
So let’s begin.
What is an Xbox 360 emulator?
For those who aren’t familiar with the term emulator, let us briefly explain what an emulator or Xbox 360 emulator is.
An emulator or an Xbox 360 emulator for this article, is software that enables a non-native device, a Windows running personal computer in this case, to act exactly in a manner that a native device would.
The purpose of this virtualization makes it possible to run software and apps built for another platform (guest) on a different platform (host).
Why do you need an emulator for playing the Xbox 360 games on a PC?
While it is true that both the Xbox gaming console series and the Windows operating system are products of the Microsoft Corporation, let us not forget that these are commercial products and hence are kept separate from each other.
However, quite recently, Microsoft has made changes to its policy, and now Xbox gaming console owners can play its games on a Windows 10 run personal computer.
But still, there is a little condition that you need to abide by and fulfill.
And the condition is that you need to own an Xbox to play its games on your Windows 10 personal computer.
All you need to do is to connect both the devices i.e. the Xbox gaming console and the Windows 10 PC to the same network.
While the actual procedure is quite lengthy and we might explain it in full in another article, we have just tried to briefly explain and sum up the possibility that exists now.
List of Best Xbox 360 emulator for PC
Honestly speaking, the world of emulators has always amazed personal computer users with the possibilities that it brings to run non-native apps and software by creating a virtual environment on a host platform.
Let us now look at some of the best emulators for playing the Xbox 360 games on a personal computer.
S.No | Xbox 360 Emulator | Freeware |
---|---|---|
1. | Xenia | ✅ |
2. | EX360E Xbox 360 Emulator | ✅ |
3. | CXBX Xbox 360 Emulator | ✅ |
4. | Xeon emulator | ✅ |
1. Xenia
While you can rely on our list for the best Xbox 360 emulators for personal computers, if you still search for the best on the internet, the most recommended of all that you will come across is the Xenia emulator.

Its popularity for being the best among all other Xbox 360 emulators for PC relies on the fact that it runs smoothly without lagging any significant number of times and neither does it face any other kind of performance issues.
It is free to use so anyone could easily download and start using it.
However, Xenia Xbox 360 emulator is only available for users of Windows running personal computers preferably Windows 8, 8.1, and 10.
This means that if you are planning to play Xbox 360 games on a Linux-based personal computer, no version of Xenia is available for it.
System requirements
Operating System: | Windows 7/8/10 or later |
CPU | 4th Gen or newer i3/i5 64-bit x86 processor |
GPU | GTX 90 Ti or newer |
RAM | Minimum 4GB |
Setup Size | 15.6MB |
How to install the Xenia Xbox 360 emulator for Windows?
Follow the below-mentioned steps to install Xenia Xbox 360 emulator for Windows –
- Search on the internet for a reliable source to download Xenia Xbox 360 emulator.
- Next, download the. ZIP or any other extractable format folder.
- Extract the files and run the Xenia Xbox 360 emulator file as an administrator.
- Once opened, download your favorite Xbox 360 games on your PC and start playing.
Please note that for Xenia Xbox 360 emulator to work on your Windows run PC, you must have Microsoft Visual Studio and Python 2.7 installed on it.
2. EX360E Xbox 360 Emulator
It often happens that while playing games on your Xbox 360, you miss playing a game on a previous gaming console that you owned previously such as Xbox One.

Well, if this is your case, then worry no more as the EX360E Xbox 360 emulator works fine with both Xbox 360 and Xbox One games.
However, the only limitation that it boasts is that the version of the Windows operating system that you are using should be 64-bit.
On the overall, EX360E Xbox emulator is reliable and good but at some point, it might lack in running smoothly due to the Direct3D (D3D), APIs and storage issues.
System requirements
OS | Windows 7/8/10 or later |
Processor | 3th Gen or newer i3/i5 64-bit x86 processor |
Graphics | GTX 90 Ti or newer |
RAM | Minimum 4GB |
Setup Size | 3.6MB |
How to install the EX360E Xbox 360 emulator?
Installing the EX360E Xbox 360 emulator is as simple and easy as any other emulator.
Simply make sure that you are running a 64-bit version of Windows.
Then all you need is to search and download the extractable folder from a reliable source, unzip it and run the emulator.
3. CXBX Xbox 360 Emulator
The CXBX emulator is more commonly known for emulating the Xbox One video games onto a Windows running personal computer.
Nevertheless, you can also play your favorite Xbox 360 games on it, only if it supports it.

This is because the CXBX emulator only supports six games of the Xbox One and Xbox 360.
As a matter of fact, the CXBX emulator isn’t an emulator. Rather, it is more of a converter type software that converts the Xbox One and Xbox 360 games into the .EXE file format that is supported by the Windows operating system.
CXBX is freely available for both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the Windows platform.
As far as its performance is concerned, it does lag at times and has a few bugs which the developers try to address by releasing regular updates.
System requirements
OS | Windows 7+ x64, or x86-64 Linux with Wine, not working with 32bit |
Processor | 3th Gen or newer i3/i5 64-bit x86 processor |
Graphics | Direct3D 9.0c with Pixel Shader Model 2.x, and Vertex Shader Model 3.0. |
RAM | Minimum 4GB |
Setup Size | 10.4MB |
How to install the CXBX Xbox 360 emulator?
Installing the CXBX Xbox 360 emulator is super easy and convenient just like any other emulator but in this case, the CXBX emulator comes with a built-in program to convert the Xbox files into Windows executable file format.
4. Xeon emulator
Our last selection for this article is the Xeon emulator for playing your favorite Xbox One and Xbox 360 games on a personal computer.
On the overall, Xeon emulator is comparatively smarter than other Xbox 360 emulators which means you will face lesser issues of lagging, bugs, stability, and smooth game flow.

In addition to the above, you have more choice of games to play using the Xeon emulator as well.
Another good thing about it is its capability to create a backup and save all your progress in a game.
However, the thing to consider here is that its developers have stopped working on it which means in case of any unresolved issues and bigs, you are on your own.
System requirements
OS | Windows XP, Windows 7/8/10 |
Processor | Pentium 4 2.0Ghz or newer |
Graphics | GeForce FX or Radeon 9200 Pro or higher |
RAM | Minimum 1GB |
Setup Size | 980 KB. |
Using the instruction guide from Xeon
The Xeon emulator comes with an instruction guide that is easy to understand for the purpose of understanding the details of the emulation procedures.
How to use Xbox 360 controller on the Dolphin emulator?
A lot of the readers were highly interested in knowing how to set up the Xbox 360 controller on the Dolphine emulator. Well, the entire process is quite easy but lengthy due to the fact that you have to set each and every button on the controller for this purpose.
So to make it easy for you to understand, follow and set up, we searched on YouTube for a much conclusive video tutorial.
Just watch this video and follow each step to set up your Xbox 360 controller on the Dolphin emulator.
Conclusion
We are sure to have helped you find the right Xbox 360 emulator in this article.
So now that you have read the complete article, just download the emulator for Xbox 360 that you think will work best on your personal computer and begin the fun and thrill.
More Emulators:
I just downloaded the Xbox 360 emulator for PC and it works great! I’m glad I found this site.
I just downloaded the Xbox 360 emulator for PC and it works great! I’m glad I found this site.