Edgeworth's first appearance was in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, where he is introduced as an antagonist prosecutor with a perfect record, who would do anything to win a trial; he is presented as respectable, but cold and ruthless.

Throughout the game, the perception of Edgeworth changes, starting in episode three when he, for reasons then unknown, suddenly helps Wright to corner a witness.

It is revealed during this episode that Wright and Edgeworth, along with Larry Butz, were childhood friends, and that Manfred von Karma murdered Miles's father, the defense attorney Gregory Edgeworth, and raised Miles as a prosecutor under his wing as revenge for a minor penalty tarnishing his otherwise spotless record.

In "Rise from the Ashes", a fifth episode included in all subsequent editions of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, he is plagued by rumors about his past as a prosecutor, abandoning his job and disappearing.

During the course of the game, he meets Kay Faraday, a young self-proclaimed "great thief", who acts as his assistant in a similar vein to Maya.

In Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit, Edgeworth comes under fire by the Committee for Prosecutorial Excellence, who seek to have him stripped of his badge.

In the Japanese Ace Attorney stage musical Ace Attorney – Truth Resurrected, staged by the all-female troupe Takarazuka Revue, Asahi Miwa portrays Leona Clyde, an original composite character based on Edgeworth and Lana Skye, depicted as Phoenix Wright's love interest, who defended him in his childhood class trial as a young girl in place of Edgeworth.

While Edgeworth is also present in the musical and its sequel Ace Attorney 2 – Truth Resurrected, Again (in which Leona is established to have died) as a separate minor character, respectively portrayed in each by Hikaru Nanaho and Hiro Yūmi, he is merely a rival to Wright with no personal connection to him.

[7] Miles Edgeworth makes a brief cameo in She-Hulk's ending cutscene in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, in which Phoenix Wright is a playable character.

[9] According to game designer Shu Takumi, Edgeworth was difficult to develop as a character compared to protagonist Phoenix Wright.

Takumi was already writing the story for the final case of the third game when he had the idea, but said it was such a 'lightbulb' moment for him that he immediately started rewriting his drafts.

In the end, Edgeworth retained an "elegant" look, with rolled-back sleeves and vest, and sporting a longer coat and a pair of glasses, appearing more like his father.

In 2009, GamesRadar+ named him among the best new video game characters of the decade, seeing him as a more complex figure than the series’ main protagonist, Phoenix, and suggesting that "in a perfect world," Edgeworth would take the leading role.

[12] TechRadar noted that Edgeworth and Phoenix’s rivalry had inspired the LGBTQ+ community to create games reflecting similar dynamics.

[25] The San Francisco Chronicle analysed a shot in Spirit of Justice where Phoenix's daughter Trucy Wright is shown resting on Edgeworth’s shoulder, likening it to a father’s "quiet sacrifice for his child’s rest", speculating on the potential for future Ace Attorney media to explore Edgeworth in a queer-platonic or romantic same-sex relationship.