Xbox system software

 The Xbox system software is Microsoft Windows with DirectX features tailored for the gaming console, which has been used across the four generations of Xbox consoles. The software has been based on a version of Microsoft Windows and includes DirectX features designed for the gaming console throughout all four generations. Games, media players, and applications may be accessed through the user interface, called the Xbox Dashboard, which links to Xbox Live for online functionality.

The original Xbox and Xbox 360 used heavily modified versions of Windows as their operating system, with the newer consoles having operating systems that are substantially compatible with Microsoft's desktop software.

Common features

The user interface of the system software on the Xbox has been called the Xbox Dashboard across all four generations of the platform. While its appearance and intricate features have varied between console generations, the Dashboard has given gamers access to start a game from the optical media inserted into their system or off its storage, as well as launch audio and video players to play optical media discs.

The user can also access the Xbox One's settings, including changing or removing content restrictions. The console also has a variety of applications and features that are accessible through the Dashboard. These include things like adjusting or disabling parental controls, watching live TV on your favorite streaming services from third parties, and more.

Since November 2002, the Dashboard has allowed for integration with the Xbox Live service. The Xbox has online capabilities, including a friends list, game achievement tracking, matchmaking support for internet games, in-game chat, and a digital game marketplace. While some features of the Xbox Live service are free, most multiplayer games on the console need a subscription-tier Xbox Live Gold membership.

Beginning with the Xbox 360 and continuing through the current generation consoles, Microsoft has provided a beta test version of the system software to customers. This was termed the Xbox Live Preview Program when it was first introduced for the Xbox 360 in September 2010, and it required an invitation from Microsoft to join. The program was renamed to Xbox Preview Program after it debuted on the Xbox One in 2014, with Microsoft opening this program to everyone rather than restricting access via invitation.

In November 2016, the program was renamed to Xbox Insider Program, matching the similar Windows Insider program for computer users. The Xbox Insider Program allowed testers to test not only system software upgrades but also game and application patches from both first and third-party developers.

Backward compatibility has been a long-standing feature of the Xbox software. After obtaining an emulation profiles to local storage on the Xbox 360, selected original Xbox game could be played through emulation. The Xbox One was not initially offered with backward compatibility support, but it was added by another emulator in January 2015 to play certain Xbox 360 games, with hundreds of titles being added regularly thereafter.

A virtual console was also released in October 2017 for the Xbox One, albeit only for a handful of original Xbox games. For the newer consoles, achieving Xbox One-backward compatibility was a target goal, and as a result, these new consoles are completely backward compatible with all titles in the Xbox One library, with the exception of those requiring Kinect support. The following is a list of games that are supported:

Xbox (first generation) software

The original Xbox was designed to be a multimedia machine, with the largest version of its architecture exclusively containing 8 Gb of RAM and two optical drives (one DVD, one CD). It runs a proprietary operating system that is based on a heavily modified version of Windows 2000 and is known as "fork and run." It generates APIs similar to those found in Microsoft Windows, such as Direct3D. 

Windows 2000 was designed for multitasking of many applications, but the Xbox console was created to run only one application at a time, and these features were excised from the Xbox software. When a game is loaded, the operating system unloads itself in order to devote all of the console's resources to it, and then when the player exits the game, it reloads up again.

In May 2021, Microsoft released a dynamic background for its current Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S system software that is based on the original Xbox system software design. In 2020, the source code of the original Xbox operating system leaked.