The future is looking increasingly digital for next-gen video game consoles, but one method that might ease the transition is a disc-to-digital service that allows users to bring their libraries with them. While there is speculation that this feature will launch around the time that Xbox debuts its next-gen console, Project Helix, a first taste of the future might be arriving sooner than expected.
Xbox Insiders received a message in lieu of an update this week, with Xbox’s program lead Brad Rossetti teasing that something big was on the way. “Xbox Insiders on console, as you have seen we paused flighting this week as we prep for week next. Thanks for being patient! The wait is worth the wait, I promise,” Rossetti wrote online.
This is widely rumored to be the first look at Xbox’s disc-to-digital program, something that Windows Central editor Jez Corden–who has filed several reports on the feature–teased its debut with a “positron cometh” tweet. This is reportedly the codename for the rumored disc-to-digital feature, with other reports claiming that Xbox Play Anywhere will give users the option to switch from physical to digital.
While Xbox has yet to confirm if Project Helix will be an all-digital games console, its rival Sony has confirmed that it will stop manufacturing PlayStation discs in 2028, something analysts believe will lead to a discless PS6. The backlash was swift and negative for Sony, with the company going radio silent on its social media channels for several days while people rallied against the company.
Even with the negative publicity, Sony’s reasons for ditching physical media make complete financial sense. Digital sales vastly overshadow physical sales, and Sony recorded its highest-ever quarterly digital game sales period just before it made the announcement.
Other companies like EA, Capcom, and Nintendo have also experienced a surge in digital sales, which means those publishers and studios have less overhead to deal with, like covering the costs of pressing game discs or paying retailer fees. And as one analyst has said, player loyalty means nothing to these companies.