MakeMHz's Project Stellar Plus shipping again this week
The new original Xbox modchip begins shipping on April 30, but high demand means some customers will be waiting up to a month for their orders.
MakeMHz is beginning the fulfillment process for its new Project Stellar Plus modchips, with shipping set to commence on a rolling basis. I love MakeMHz products. They keep my original Xbox alive and make the console far more interesting to use in 2026. The logistics of a hardware launch are always complicated.
Rolling out on Thursday
Microsoft released the original Xbox in November 2001. Keeping that aging hardware functional today often requires serious intervention, especially as the original hard drives and DVD drives fail. MakeMHz has a long history in this specific scene. Before Project Stellar, they developed the XboxHD+, an internal HDMI mod that pulled pure digital video directly from the console's motherboard. The original Project Stellar began development in 2020 and launched in 2022 as a way to unify the fragmented Xbox modding ecosystem.
The Project Stellar Plus is a complete hardware redesign of that 2022 modchip. For $100, it replaces the original board and adds built-in Wi-Fi alongside native wireless controller support powered by BlueRetro. It also runs StellarOS, a custom, legally re-implemented Xbox BIOS. This operating system handles hard drive management, network updates, and optical drive emulation. You do not need a working disc drive to load your games anymore, which is a massive relief for anyone dealing with a dead Thomson drive.
Wireless Upgrade Kits also shipping
MakeMHz also produced a Project Stellar Wireless Upgrade Kit to bring older installations up to parity with the new Plus model. Both the Project Stellar Plus and the Wireless Upgrade Kit are on track, with shipping set to begin on Thursday, April 30th.
Software updates are next
The focus shifts back to what comes next. StellarOS is an ongoing project that requires continuous development. Because the operating system operates independently of the original Microsoft software, the developers have the freedom to push kernel-level features and network-based system updates directly to the console.
The next phase involves refining that software experience for the influx of new Plus users and expanding the capabilities of the BlueRetro integration. The development team will need to ensure the new Wi-Fi capabilities remain stable across different network environments. They also need to maintain compatibility with a massive library of games, homebrew applications, and emulators that the community has built over the last two decades. The original Xbox is approaching its twenty-fifth anniversary, and hardware revisions like the Stellar Plus ensure the console will actually survive to see it.
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