Microsoft Bans Emulators From Windows Store, Removes Current Emulators

Microsoft has recently banned and removed emulators from their Windows store, making emulation on the Xbox One impossible through traditional means. This is in an effort to stifle game piracy.

Previously, Microsoft had announced it would be changing the Store's policies to block emulation of video game systems but has also begun removing existing software from their marketplace.

MSPoweruser has stated that this will apply to Xbox, Windows phones, and the PC Windows Store. This, however, has no effect on emulators downloaded via an internet browser on PC, just systems that use the Windows Store.

While emulation is technically not illegal, it sits at a moral gray area, and distributors of games have the right to disallow them on their marketplaces. Older games that are hard to get physical copies of are often emulated on new devices like PC and mobile. The issues lie with emulation or direct piracy of newer games, such as current generation titles and not just the second-hand market.