Xbox’s disc-to-digital program looks like it could be a vital step forward for players who want to hold on to their physical games in an increasingly digital world, but it does have limits. Not every game publisher is on board with it, it seems, as Xbox users are reporting that four of the biggest companies aren’t “participating” at all.
So far, it looks like games from Sega, Square Enix, Ubisoft, and Bandai Namco are largely incompatible with the disc-to-digital service. As verified by Kotaku, popping in a disc for a game from one of those publishers could result in a “not participating in digital licensing” message. A fan effort to catalogue all the games that do work with it also shows which titles from those publishers are incompatible with disc-to-digital, so if you were holding on to a physical edition of Far Cry 4, Final Fantasy 15, or Dark Souls 3, you’re out of luck.
This could be rectified in the future if those publishers decide to sign up–Xbox has mentioned that this will be a gradual rollout for the service–but the current wording of the message and the sheer number of games involved suggest otherwise. What’s the reason for this? It could be down to good ol’ economics, as the companies would probably prefer that you buy one of their games again on the digital storefront. After all, if you decide to pick up a physical copy of a title from a local secondhand store or through a private sale, they’re not seeing a cent of that cash when it changes hands.
This is something that Square Enix has been called to task over, as several of its big HD-2D RPGs have no upgrade path to Switch 2. For example, if you purchased Octopath Traveler for the Switch, there’s no complimentary or premium upgrade pack to give it sharper graphics and new features on a Switch 2 console. Instead, you’ll have to buy the game again when its Switch 2 version launches, and you don’t even get an option to transfer your save game over.
All of this paints a worrying picture for game preservation, as Square Enix, Sega, Bandai Namco, and Ubisoft represent a sizable chunk of the gaming market with several big franchises and numerous smaller games spread between them. Microsoft may want to make the transition to an all-digital future easier–and better than Sony’s plan to go all in on ditching physical media–but not every company wants to play ball.
