Microsoft has officially announced a new Xbox feature that lets you digitize your physical game discs.
In a blog post, Microsoft revealed a new system that allows players to “bring the benefits of digital to physical discs,” with the aim of giving people more flexibility. This disc-to-digital program was leaked a while back.
Microsoft said “most” Xbox One and Xbox Series X disc-based games will support the new feature. Here’s how it works, in Microsoft’s own words:
“Players can claim a digital entitlement by inserting a supported disc into an Xbox One or Xbox Series X console and launching the game. Once the entitlement is claimed, you can experience the benefits of digital, including Xbox Play Anywhere and Xbox Cloud Gaming where supported, while your physical disc continues to work exactly as it always has.”
Reporter Tom Warren, who originally broke the news of this program, said the entitlement is “tied to the specific disc, and it will move from account to account if you swap the physical game with a friend or log in to a different Xbox profile and try to play a disc-based game.”
To boil it down, here’s how the disc-to-digital program works, based on that report and what Xbox boss Jason Ronald said during a Gamescom livestream event:
- Insert a supported disc and you get a license for a digital copy of the game, which works as if you had bought it digitally: play without a disc in and access Play Anywhere and cloud versions if they’re offered for that game.
- Your disc will still work, but if you give that disc to someone else, you lose that digital license
- This all requires an Xbox with a disc drive–Series S owners are left out.
“Thousands” of games will support this new feature, and more will be added over time. “While not every title will be available at launch, this is an important step toward a future where players can have greater confidence that the games they buy remain with them for years to come,” Microsoft said.
People in the Xbox Insider program can begin testing this new feature on August 31. It will be made available to everyone else later.
For what it’s worth, Microsoft’s original pitch for the Xbox One offered something similar, but fans revolted and Microsoft quickly changed course.
The announcement of the disc-to-digital program comes not long after Sony announced that it would end support for physical PlayStation game discs in 2028. It’s expected that Microsoft will stop supporting game discs, too, with its upcoming Project Helix console.
Analyst Daniel Ahmad of Niko Partners said the disc-to-digital program from Xbox is a “nod towards the transition to an all-digital future.” Xbox game sales are more than 90% digital today, he said, which is an even higher percentage that PlayStation.
