Asha Sharma, CEO of XBOX, announced via XBOX Wire and her own X account the establishment of a new organization called “XBOX LABS.” Focusing on recent technological trends—such as the rapid porting and modification of games by users—the organization will explore the possibilities offered by new technologies, including the reuse of past titles and support for player-created content.
The Potential Xbox Sees in Game Porting and Modding
In a message to employees, Sharma noted that games have been rapidly decompiled and rebuilt in recent weeks. Citing examples of Windows games running on Apple Silicon and in browsers, she stated, “We’re also seeing a phenomenon where many major global titles are being incorporated into the source code of other games.”
In fact, recent trends include users attempting to port older titles to unsupported platforms, and discussions about so-called “unauthorized ports”—those created without the rights holders’ permission—have been spreading on social media and elsewhere.
Sharma remarked, “It’s easy to imagine the immense potential that arises from making excellent games more accessible, breathing new life into older games, and enabling more players to become creators or co-creators.” He continued, “Even if these developments disrupt existing business models, they clearly result in positive outcomes for players.”
“Xbox Labs,” established against this backdrop, is described as a small group comprising game creators, engineers, and scientists. Moving forward, the organization plans to create opportunities for players and developers to experience new ideas firsthand. It intends to conduct development in an open environment and share the tools it develops with developers across the industry.
Additionally, Scott Van Vliet, Xbox’s CTO and head of the organization, posted on his X account, “The best way to discover the future of gaming is to build it,” and indicated that he would soon share details of the experiments.
The Rise of “Fan Porting”: How Will Rights Holders Respond?
Regarding this announcement, voices on the international forum Reddit have expressed hope for the revival of major titles whose source code has been lost, as well as for the preservation of games. On the other hand, some have raised questions about whether similar initiatives by large corporations should be permitted, given that individual porting and modifications are typically stopped due to copyright issues.
Past examples of rights holders taking action against individual ports, modifications, and mods include Bethesda and Activision responding to a project that used generative AI to recreate the *Fallout* setting in New York, as well as a plan to decompile *CoD: MW2* (via Kotaku).
In Japan as well, Naoki Horii, President and CEO of M2, has responded to an “unauthorized port” of *GG Aresta 3*—which is playable on PS4 and Nintendo Switch—for the Mega Drive.He noted that the free port not only competes with the currently available commercial version but could also impact future developments, stating, “Even if revenue is zero, our losses are not zero,” and urging the creators to refrain from unauthorized releases.
In his statement, Sharma also reaffirmed the company’s commitment to handling the IP and its surrounding community responsibly. However, when the international media outlet The Verge sought comment from Microsoft regarding the unauthorized use of the IP, no response was received by the time the article was published.
