A new Xbox 360 emulator just arrived on Android, but you should wait

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

X360 mobile was released GitHub tomorrow (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 some other reasons to be wary of this app right now.

We cannot 100% guarantee the security of X360 Mobile, as the developer has not released the source code of the app. This will allow other people to check through the app to investigate problems. The developers say they are not releasing the code to “maintain the security of the codebase and proprietary performance enhancements.” This raises ethical questions given the fact that the underlying Xenia emulator is an open-source program. We’ve seen the GameHub app adopt a closed-source approach despite heavy use of open-source projects (obviously without crediting the developers).

A closed-source emulator is not necessarily prohibited, but the developer claims that the “independent third-party security verification report” was prepared with an automated security checking tool rather than an actual third-party individual or group. It is also unclear whether the developer used AI to create the emulator, which could be a security risk.

Needless to say, you should stop installing the emulator right now in case there are security issues. If you really want to install it on your Android device, I suggest not keeping any sensitive information (for example, Google accounts) on it.

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, choose your game directory, and then choose a Vulkan driver (i.e., system or custom driver). Strangely, the X360 Mobile doesn’t let you download custom drivers after setup, but it does offer this feature through the Settings menu. Furthermore, the app requires full file access unlike scoped storage.

Once you go through these steps, you should see all your games appear in the Home and Games tabs along with the cover art. There’s also a Profile tab, which lets you save and import profiles. Otherwise, the Settings tab has several configuration options, including render resolution (minimum 720p), frame generation of some kind, anti-aliasing options, and physical/touch control adjustments.

However, what about the actual gaming experience? I tried three titles, starting with Call of Duty 2. It ran at 30fps according to the built-in frame rate counter, which is a far cry from the original’s 60fps gameplay (dips to 30fps). However, the simulated game was mostly smooth and running at a higher frame rate than suggested by the counter. I’d definitely put it in the “surprisingly playable” category. The Galaxy S25 Ultra got very warm, but never hot to the touch.

The next game I tried was Skate 3, and it provided variable performance in the high teens, up to 30fps. It’s certainly not as smooth as Call of Duty 2, due to the long periods of low frame rates, but I was also surprised to see the game often reach ~30fps and stay there for a while. If you have experienced the skate game on PS3 and can understand that performance, you can call this game playable on X360 mobile. But the degradation puts the game into slow-paced territory.

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

Despite encouraging results, questions remain

In other words, the X360 Mobile technically runs some games, and it temporarily provides better performance than expected given its alpha nature. The developer claims this performance is due to the app being based on the Canary Arm release of the Xenia emulator, although rival emulator ax360e is also integrating Xenia Canary code for a better experience. Either way, it certainly 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 the ax360e to see which solution is best.

It’s a pity that the security concerns of X360 Mobile have not been adequately addressed at this point, which means we can’t recommend installing it on your primary device just yet. But if you’re into simulation this definitely looks like an app worth checking out.