GoKawiilHadlee Simons / Android Authority
TL;DR The X360 Mobile emulator has just been released as a public alpha.
This is an Xbox 360 emulator for Android, although our initial testing understandably shows varying results.
There are also some security concerns about the app, so you shouldn’t install it just yet.
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.
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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.
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