If Sega does what Nintendon’t, Xbox can do what, um, PlayStationdon’t too.
Using the Xbox Series X/S Developer Mode and RetroArch, according to The Verge, it’s now possible to launch PS2 games on Microsoft’s next-gen console. RetroArch is a sort of modular launcher that supports previous-gen console games on multiple platforms via “core” plugins, and includes PS2 games via the open source PCSX2 emulator. More importantly, it’s also available as a Universal Windows Application (UWA), so it works with the Xbox Series X/S.
To actually install RetroArch on your console, however, you’ve got two options. One, you can join Microsoft’s Developer program at a cost of $19 to access the “Dev mode activation” app. Or two, as Ars Technica explains, you can download a version of RetroArch through a very intrepid indie distributor – but this method is probably going to be plugged up before you have time to do that.
Also, emulation like this obviously isn’t officially sanctioned by Microsoft or Sony or Nintendo, so it’s entirely at your own risk.