A new Xbox 360 emulator just hit Android, but you should hold off

We first heard last month that a new Xbox 360 emulator for Android, dubbed X360 Mobile, was in the works. The developer made some big promises at the time, but they’ve now released the first public beta version. But you might want to hold your horses before downloading it.

X360 Mobile was released on GitHub yesterday (May 31), although this version 0.5 release is just a public alpha for now. In other words, don’t be surprised if there are bugs and other performance issues. However, there are a couple of other reasons to be wary of this app for now.

We can’t 100% vouch for the safety of X360 Mobile, as the developer hasn’t released the app’s source code. This would’ve allowed others to comb through the app to check for issues. The developer says they’re not releasing the code in order to “safeguard the codebase and maintain proprietary performance enhancements.” This does raise ethical questions given the fact that the underlying Xenia emulator is an open-source program. We’ve also seen the GameHub app take a closed-source approach despite its heavy use of open-source projects (without apparently crediting developers).

A closed-source emulator isn’t necessarily a no-go, but the developer’s claimed “independent third-party security verification report” was generated with an automated security checking tool rather than an actual third-party person or group. It’s also unclear whether the developer used AI to create the emulator, which can be a security risk.

Needless to say, you should hold off on installing the emulator for now in case there are security issues. If you really want to install it on your Android device, I’d recommend not having any sensitive info on it (e.g., Google accounts).

I opted to install the app on a Galaxy S25 Ultra loan unit and found setup to be very easy. You’ll need to choose a location for content storage (e.g., saves, DLC, profiles, content), create a gamertag, pick your game directory, and then choose a Vulkan driver (i.e., system or custom driver). Oddly enough, X360 Mobile doesn’t seem to let you download custom drivers upon setup, but it does offer this feature via the settings menu. Furthermore, the app requires full file access as opposed to scoped storage.

Once you’ve gone through these steps, you should see all your games in the home and games tabs, complete with cover art. There’s also a profile tab, which lets you import saves and profiles. Otherwise, the settings tab has a host of configuration options, including render resolution (720p minimum), frame generation of some kind, anti-aliasing options, and physical/touch control adjustments.

What about the actual gaming experience, though? I tried three titles, starting with Call of Duty 2. This ran at 30fps according to the built-in frame rate counter, which largely differs from the original’s 60fps gameplay (with dips to 30fps). However, the emulated game was mostly smooth and seemed to be running at a higher frame rate than the counter suggested. I’d definitely put this in the “surprisingly playable” category. The Galaxy S25 Ultra did get very warm, but never hot to the touch.

The next game I tried was Skate 3, and it delivered variable performance in the high teens to 30fps. It’s certainly not as smooth as Call of Duty 2, owing to extended periods of low frame rates, but I was also surprised to see the game often jump to ~30fps and stay there for periods of time. If you experienced the Skate games on PS3 and could stomach that performance, you might call this game playable on X360 Mobile. But the dips do put the game in slow-motion territory.

Finally, I tried Xbox Live Arcade title Trials HD. The stunt bike platformer was a thoroughly slow-motion affair compared to the original’s 60fps gameplay. Oddly enough, both Skate 3 and Trials HD initially displayed black screens before I restarted them and they actually entered gameplay.

Questions remain, despite encouraging results

In other words, X360 Mobile does technically run some games, and it tentatively offers better-than-expected performance given its alpha nature. The developer claims that this performance is due to the app being based on the Xenia emulator’s Canary Arm release, although rival emulator ax360e is also integrating the Xenia Canary code for a better experience. Either way, it definitely seems like Xbox 360 emulation on Android is taking a big step forward. But we’ll need to run more games and compare performance to ax360e to see which solution is best.

It’s just a pity that X360 Mobile’s security concerns haven’t been adequately addressed at this point, meaning we can’t unreservedly recommend installing it on your primary device just yet. But it definitely looks like an app worth watching if you’re an emulation enthusiast.