Xena: Warrior Princess is getting another shot on modern hardware

Xena: Warrior Princess is making its way onto modern computers through a new update to an unofficial PC recompilation project, giving the 1999 PlayStation action game a fresh route onto Windows, Linux and macOS. No, this isn’t a remake. There are no new character models, reworked stages or flashy lighting effects waiting around the corner. It’s still the same PlayStation game, complete with late-90s 3D graphics, compact levels, sword fights, platforming and plenty of chakram throwing. The difference is where you can play it. The latest update improves the process used to prepare Xena: Warrior Princess for current computers, with support covering Windows PCs, Linux machines and Macs using either Intel processors or Apple Silicon. Players need their own original game data, so the project itself doesn’t arrive as a ready-made copy of the PlayStation release. Once everything is set up, the result runs as a desktop application rather than relying on the usual PlayStation emulator setup.

Xena moves from PlayStation to PC

For players interested in revisiting Xena: Warrior Princess, the appeal is fairly straightforward. The game originally belonged to Sony’s first PlayStation, and official releases never extended to modern desktop operating systems. This project changes the practical side of playing it.

There’s still some setup involved. You’ll need game files from your own copy, plus a compatible PlayStation BIOS. After those pieces are in place, the supplied tools prepare the game for the computer you’re using.

Most players won’t need to care much about what happens behind the curtain. The project uses static recompilation, which converts the original PlayStation program into code suitable for present-day processors. In everyday terms, it gives the old console game a way to run as a native desktop program. The game itself remains recognisably Xena: Warrior Princess.

A late-90s PlayStation action game

Xena: Warrior Princess first appeared on PlayStation in 1999, arriving during the television series’ original run. Universal Studios Digital Arts developed the game, with Electronic Arts handling publishing. Rather than recreating an episode from the TV series, the game tells its own story.

Gabrielle has been captured by the sorceress Kalabrax, setting Xena off across a string of 3D stages filled with enemies, traps and platforming sections. Kalabrax plans to use Gabrielle, Queen of the Amazons, as part of her scheme, leaving Xena with a fairly direct objective: find her friend and stop the sorceress.

It’s uncomplicated material, which suits the game’s structure. Story scenes provide context, but most of your time goes into fighting, jumping and working through linear environments. This is very much a PlayStation action game from 1999.

Sword first, chakram second

Combat centres on Xena’s sword, supported by kicks and other close-range attacks. Her chakram gives her a ranged weapon, letting players hit enemies from a distance or interact with parts of a stage where a sword won’t help much.

There’s platforming between fights too. Xena climbs, jumps across gaps and moves through areas built around hazards or simple environmental puzzles. Levels remain relatively contained, so there’s little risk of spending half an hour wondering where the next objective went.

One slightly less expected feature is the Karma Meter. Certain actions influence it, including rescuing hostages and dealing with some situations in different ways. It doesn’t turn Xena into an RPG, but it adds another system beyond hitting enemies until they stop moving.

Controls, camera behaviour and level layouts still come from the same period. Anyone expecting modern third-person action design is going to meet something much older in structure. For players approaching it on those terms, it’s a compact licensed action game from an era packed with them.

No remaster treatment here

The new update doesn’t repaint Xena: Warrior Princess or replace its original design. Characters retain their PlayStation models. Environments keep their original geometry. Combat works as it did in 1999. So this isn’t a project trying to turn Xena into a modern action adventure.

Instead, it gives the existing game another way to run on current hardware, covering three major desktop operating systems without changing what sits underneath. Players provide the required original files, the project handles the conversion process, and the resulting build stays close to the PlayStation release.

For Xena: Warrior Princess, nearly three decades after its debut, the headline is refreshingly simple. The old PlayStation game now has a much easier route onto a modern PC.