Xbox is teaming up with Antstream to bring classic Activision titles to Game Pass. Atari 2600, MS-DOS, SNES, PS1 & More. Here are my first impressions!

The Xbox is like that one overly enthusiastic friend who shows up to game night with a cooler full of energy drinks, a 4K TV strapped to their back, and the unshakable confidence of someone who’s never actually beaten Elden Ring. Born in 2001 with the original Xbox (a console roughly the size of a small microwave), Microsoft decided it was time to crash Sony and Nintendo’s party—armed with Halo, a terrifying amount of marketing dollars, and a logo that looked like it was ripped straight from a Mountain Dew commercial. And somehow, it worked. Xbox became a household name, partly because of its powerful hardware, and partly because gamers couldn’t stop yelling profanities into their Xbox Live headsets at complete strangers. A true bonding experience.

Over the years, Xbox evolved from a bulky console that sounded like a jet engine to a sleek black monolith (Xbox Series X) that now lives in living rooms like some kind of digital obelisk. It’s embraced the “Netflix of gaming” model with Game Pass, letting players gorge on hundreds of titles for less than the cost of a large pizza. Xbox even started cozying up to PC gamers, no longer insisting on console exclusivity like an overprotective partner. Today, Xbox isn’t just a brand—it’s a lifestyle, a subscription service, and possibly your child’s best friend (or worst influence). In short: Xbox is the lovable tech bro of the gaming world—loud, flashy, and always ready to drop a nuke in Call of Duty.