Most RPG Fans Haven’t Played One of the Best Games Exclusive to the Original Xbox

In 2001, Microsoft decided to enter the competitive home console market with the Xbox. The company didn’t have established franchises like Nintendo and Sony, so it had to do other things to compete. Without a system-seller like Mario or Final Fantasy, the original Xbox tried to partner with storied developers to create new IP that would hopefully thrive on the upstart console. One of those partners ended up being BioWare, the famed RPG developer behind games like Baldur’s Gate. And while the partnership certainly proved fruitful for both parties, one of the two games BioWare made for the original Xbox, unfortunately, went unplayed by most.

BioWare and Microsoft Partnered for Two Great Xbox Games

In the early 2000s, BioWare started to work on two games, both of which would become Xbox exclusives. Most will remember Knights of the Old Republic. BioWare started working on its take on Star Wars in July 2000 and released it on Xbox three years later. It was an immediate hit, becoming the Xbox’s fastest-selling game at the time. By the end of its run, Knights of the Old Republic had sold around 3.2 million units and led to a sequel (developed by Obsidian Entertainment), an MMO spin-off, and a still-in-development remake.

The other project would become Jade Empire. BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk said development started in May 2001 and is the one who called it a “dream project” in a 2004 interview with Gamespy. Most of BioWare’s previous hits were based on established IP, as Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights were rooted in Dungeons & Dragons, and KOTOR was set in the Star Wars universe. Jade Empire would be a completely different beast.

The RPG takes cues from Chinese history, specifically from the Han and Ming dynasties. However, the world created by BioWare is wholly unique. There are elements of Chinese mythology, but Jade Empire is its own thing. BioWare also decided to use real-time combat for Jade Empire. The studio mostly used turn-based combat to that point, so it was a challenge to incorporate the stat-based RPG mechanics the developers were known for.

Thankfully, BioWare mostly got it right. Jade Empire is a gorgeous game, filled with imaginative characters and backdrops. Most reviewers agreed that BioWare knocked it out of the park, calling it one of the best RPGs of that console generation. The combat was a bit lackluster, and Jade Empire’s run time was a little lacking, but that just meant more time to replay the campaign as one of the six different archetypes.

So Jade Empire was, by all accounts, a successful release that stands up there with BioWare’s best. If that’s the case, why haven’t many people played the critical darling? Sadly, Jade Empire is a victim of bad timing.

Jade Empire Should’ve Been an Xbox 360 Game

Remember, Jade Empire was released for the original Xbox. Unfortunately, it launched in April 2005. At that point, players were only a few months away from the launch of the Xbox 360. In some ways, Microsoft sent Jade Empire out to die. It’s very rare that a game launches that late in a console’s life cycle and becomes a sales hit.

Zeschuk would later say in a 2015 interview with GamesIndustry that Jade Empire should’ve been held back for the 360. He went as far as to say that making it a launch title “would have been massive.” That tracks. Not only would it have given the 360 a solid RPG for fans to dig into for launch, but BioWare would’ve had a few more months to further polish Jade Empire.

That did not happen, and Jade Empire only sold about 500,000 units during its first year. It’s not a foregone conclusion that it would’ve been a top-seller in the 360’s launch lineup, but it likely had a better shot. BioWare did go on to have a ton of success on the console with Mass Effect, but it’s hard not to think about what could have been.

Even worse, fans of Jade Empire have mostly been left begging for scraps from BioWare. The last time the company gave a substantial update on the RPG was in a 2011 interview, where Zeschuk said the team was big believers in the IP, but hadn’t found a good way to make a second game. Zeschuk retired from the studio the next year, and all we’ve seen since then is some art for the cancelled Jade Empire 2.

Thankfully, if you missed it on Xbox, BioWare did release Jade Empire on PC. It didn’t perform as well critically as the console version, but the Special Edition is still available on Steam. If you consider yourself a fan of BioWare’s classic RPGs, Jade Empire is absolutely worth a playthrough.

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