Ubisoft seems to have officially joined Xbox‘s Disc to Digital program, with a number of titles now confirmed to be compatible with the experimental service. This confirmation comes less than 24 hours after reports surfaced claiming that Ubisoft and a handful of other major publishers may have opted out of Xbox’s Disc to Digital program.
Announced on August 26, Xbox’s Disc to Digital program essentially grants players a digital license for their physical games. Currently only available for Xbox Insiders who signed up for alpha testing, the new program requires players to simply insert an owned disc into their Xbox One or Series X console, and then attach the digital license to their Microsoft account. When done, users can then download and play their owned games without the need for the disc, though if they sell the physical copy, that license will move to the new owner’s account. There are already hundreds of titles compatible with Xbox’s Disc to Digital program, but recently, early testers noticed some pretty big omissions.
Ubisoft Joins Xbox’s Disc to Digital Program
On September 9, many outlets (including GameRant), reported that Ubisoft and Square Enix had seemingly opted out of Xbox’s Disc to Digital program. Many of these reports cited a Reddit thread created by Xbox Insiders testing the new program, many of whom claimed that several Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed, and Tomb Raider games weren’t compatible with the service. Later comments claimed that some SEGA and Bandai Namco games were also incompatible with the Disc to Digital program.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)
Many fellow Redditors and outlets were quick to point out that Xbox’s Disc to Digital program is still in its alpha testing phase and that the current list of compatible titles is not necessarily representative of what the final list will look like. That’s been proven very quickly, as many Ubisoft games that weren’t compatible on September 9 seem to be working perfectly now.
In a recent report for Windows Central, Jez Corden confirmed that many Ubisoft games are now working with Xbox’s Disc to Digital program, specifically naming Far Cry Primal, Far Cry 4, Trials Fusion, and several Assassin’s Creed titles in the article. Over on Twitter, Corden asked testers for other Ubisoft titles that are now confirmed to be working with the service. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Immortals Fenyx Rising, Watch Dogs 2, and For Honor were all just some of the Ubisoft games confirmed to now be compatible.
While it’s not a certainty, it does seem likely that other major publishers like SEGA, Bandai Namco, and Square Enix will follow in Ubisoft’s footsteps and add their games to Xbox’s Disc to Digital library in the near future. In his Windows Central report, Corden states that he’s been told that other publishers are on board with Xbox’s program, they just need to work out the details before committing their games to the service.
