Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was a prominent machine for hard modding with RGH and JTAGs becoming popular for online cheats and “game backups”, but the console has never been softmodded. While the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 have been exploited for years, the 20-year-old Xbox has somehow stayed secure.
After two decades of being percieved as “un-softmoddable”, console modder Grimdoomer has figured out a way of installing an exploit onto Microsoft’s console without modifying its internal hardware.
In an announcement on Twitter, the modder—who previously worked on PS2 homebrew, original Xbox homebrew and the recent Xbox 360 “Bad Update” tool—confirmed that they have discovered a way of softmodding the ageing console.
At the time of writing, there is no release date for the software exploit with the developer explaining that it will “take time to finish”. However, the exploit chain exists and the modder has worked tirelessly to make it happen.
“I know I said I retired from console hacking but I got one more in me,” the modder told fans on Twitter. “An Xbox 360 softmod is coming, no eta yet, THIS WILL TAKE TIME to finish.”
I still can’t believe this exploit chain works, and I also can’t believe I spent 20 hours a day for the last 3 weeks straight working on this. I’m so tired but seeing that coffee cup on screen was worth it.”
The Xbox 360 has long been heralded as one of the best homebrew devices for gamers who have their consoles hardmodded with JTAGs or RGHs. While the recent Bad Update tool allowed players to have a temporary softmod for their console, the exploit needed to be re-run every time you turned off the console.
In a world where games are often lost and abandoned or pulled from digital storefronts, it is important to give older machines options. For older systems, reproduction cartridges and Everdrive-like systems have become essential to their longevity, and softmods do the same for more modern consoles.
