Hadlee Simons / Android Authority
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TL;DR
- The developer behind the HakuX emulator for Android has released v1.0.0 and v1.1.0 of the app.
- These new versions bring major performance upgrades, allowing us to run original Xbox games on budget-tier Android hardware.
- These updates also bring improved support for non-Snapdragon processors.
There was a dearth of original Xbox emulators for Android, but that started to change earlier this year. We first saw the admittedly vibecoded X1 Box app in March, based on the Xemu emulator for PC, but this was quickly followed by a forked Android app called HakuX. Thankfully, there’s some great news if you want better original Xbox emulation on Android.
The developer behind HakuX has released v1.0.0 of the emulator on GitHub, bringing some major upgrades. For starters, the emulator is no longer based on Xemu’s CPU tech. More specifically, the app now uses the FEX tool to translate x86 CPU instructions to Arm. The developer also claims that the Xbox kernel is reimplemented natively.
HakuX also supports custom Turnip GPU drivers for Snapdragon-powered devices, but what if you don’t have a Snapdragon device? HakuX v1.1.0 was released a day after v1.0.0 and introduces experimental support for Mali, Xclipse, and PowerVR GPUs. The developer adds that this update introduces a compatibility layer for devices with a Vulkan 1.1 driver or lower. In plain English, you should see improved performance and compatibility on non-Snapdragon devices, with the developer claiming that Mercenaries and Burnout 3 ran “cleanly” on a Google Pixel 8.
I installed the updated emulator on my Retroid Pocket G2 and was pleasantly surprised to see that Halo 2 ran at full speed (30fps). You’ll want to use a Turnip driver, though, as the system driver displays serious graphical glitches. I was also happy to see that the game ran well on the ANBERNIC RG 55G1, which has a low-end Snapdragon G1 Gen 2 chip compared to the Retroid’s Snapdragon G2 Gen 2. Project Gotham Racing 2 is another game I tried that delivered playable performance on both handhelds, although it ran a little better on the Retroid. Still, it’s impressive to see an original Xbox emulator delivering a playable experience on low-end silicon, so there’s a good chance that it might run decently on your budget phone or tablet.
Otherwise, the developer noted that games like Blood Wake, Burnout 3, Fable, MechAssault, Ninja Gaiden Black, and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind all ran well on a Retroid Pocket 5 at 2x resolution. Some games, like Halo 2 and Jet Set Radio Future, also apparently support 120fps mods. Either way, I’m glad to see original Xbox emulation getting a major boost on Android, as there are still some exclusive titles you can’t play on PS2 or PC.
