\n<\/p>\n
Microsoft is barring users from running game emulations on the Xbox Series X | S. On Thursday, Twitter user @gamr12<\/a>, who\u2019s involved with the distribution of the RetroArch emulation software on Xbox, posted the error message they received when attempting to launch emulated content. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cUnable to launch this game or app,\u201d the message reads. \u201cThe game or app you\u2019re trying to launch violates Microsoft Store policy and is not supported.\u201d Other users<\/a> with emulation software<\/a> on the Xbox Series X | S report running into the same issue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 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\u2019s put in Retail Mode, something all users can switch on for free with a little technical know-how.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n While it\u2019s still not clear what prompted the change, Alyanna, an active emulator fan who says she is a Microsoft Azure developer<\/a>, claims she contacted an unnamed \u201cfriend at the Xbox QA team\u201d <\/strong>about the issue weeks ago, who said the reason for the ban is Nintendo. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n While the source and claims of the message haven\u2019t been verified or confirmed, it reads, \u201cThe primary reason for the ban is related to legal issues with Nintendo.\u201d \u201cWhile emulating itself is not illegal, it can be used to play games from consoles that are still under copyright protection without permission, which can create issues with Nintendo and its affiliates.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Microsoft\u2019s rules technically don\u2019t allow emulations, but the company typically looked the other way in the past, according to Kotaku<\/em><\/a>. \u201cWe continually evolve our mechanisms for reviewing and taking enforcement actions on content distributed to the Store to ensure alignment with our Microsoft Store Policies,\u201d Microsoft tells Kotaku<\/em>. \u201cPer 10.13.10, Products that emulate a game system or game platform are not allowed on any device family,\u201d Microsoft says. The company didn\u2019t immediately respond to The Verge<\/em>\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If Nintendo is, indeed, the catalyst behind Microsoft\u2019s decision, I won\u2019t at all be surprised. Nintendo has long been a stickler for emulated games \u2014 unless, of course, the company itself can create and profit off of them (see: NES<\/a>\/SNES Mini<\/a>, Nintendo Switch Online game packages<\/a>, etc.). Nintendo, notably, sued the RomUniverse website for $1.2 million<\/a> in 2019. Nintendo also went after Gary Bowser, a Canadian hacker<\/a> selling Switch hacks, who has agreed to pay $10 million in fines<\/a> and is currently serving a 40-month prison sentence<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n