Xbox’s Disc-to-Digital Feature Could Be Launching Sooner Than Expected

A previously teased disc-to-digital feature may be heading to Xbox consoles soon, according to a social media post from an Xbox insider. Given that the next-gen Xbox console will likely not have a disc drive, the disc-to-digital conversion feature would give players a potential way to play supported titles on the upcoming system.

Rumors of Xbox’s disc-to-digital conversion method first emerged on July 1. In short, the digital conversion feature would grant Xbox console users a digital entitlement for a specific game after inserting a disc into an Xbox console. This digital entitlement would be specific to each Xbox Blu-ray disc, meaning that it would belong to the Xbox user that possesses the disc. The license would be transferred should the disc be lent or sold to another Xbox user, making it possible to keep buying, selling, and trading Xbox titles. However, this feature will only work on Xbox One and Xbox Series X game discs, meaning Xbox 360 and original Xbox titles are not supported.

Xbox’s Disc Conversion Feature May Be Ready for Public Testing Soon

Since Xbox’s Project Helix console may not have a disc drive at all, this would prevent disc-based Xbox titles from being playable on the new system. However, according to Windows Central editor and Xbox insider Jez Corden, the disc-converting method may arrive in the coming days. Corden reposted a July 9 message from Xbox Insider program lead Brad Rossetti that stated Xbox Insider flights were paused during the first full week of July. Rossetti said the pause was to give Xbox Insider’s development team time to prepare for something that could arrive during the week of July 16. Rossetti said that the next flight would be worth the wait.

In response, Corden claimed that the next Xbox Insider preview build may include Positron, which is Xbox’s development code name for the disc-to-digital conversion feature. Interested Xbox console users can test out future Xbox console features by downloading the Xbox Insider Bundle from the Microsoft Store and selecting an Xbox Update Preview to join. With Xbox joining PlayStation in going exclusively digital in the future, the disc conversion method would allow some games to be playable on Project Helix via backward compatibility.

The move to a digital-only console generation may result in increased profits for game developers and hardware manufacturers. According to Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of KantanGames Inc., a first-party digital release allows Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo to keep the full cut of a game released on each company’s respective storefront. By comparison, a physical first-party game release would see 35% of each copy sold go directly to covering shipping costs. Given that Blu-ray discs have a capacity limit of 100GB each, games such as Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth have shipped with multiple discs to ensure the game can be physically released.

As of this writing, there is no official timetable for Xbox’s potential disc conversion feature, so users must wait for more information. Although some questions about the price of Xbox’s Project Helix still linger, it remains to be seen how many Xbox users will convert their game discs to digital licenses.

Source: Dexerto