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Microsoft has officially announced a feature owners of physical Xbox games have been waiting for. The new option will let you convert supported disc-based games into digital entitlements tied to a player's account. Just insert the disc into an Xbox One or Xbox Series X console and launch the game. After obtaining the digital entitlement, the user will have access to the same features as the digital versions. Importantly, Microsoft says the disc itself will still work as before. However, the feature could also speed up the industry's shift towards digital distribution.
How disc-to-digital works on Xbox
The new feature will initially support thousands of games, and Microsoft plans to add more titles over time. According to Jason Ronald, Xbox's vice president responsible for the next generation, most disc-based games for Xbox One and Xbox Series X will be compatible with the solution. The process is meant to be simple. The player inserts a supported disc into an Xbox One or Xbox Series X, launches the game and can then redeem a digital entitlement. That means, if a title supports the relevant features, the user can take advantage of, among other things, Xbox Play Anywhere and Xbox Cloud Gaming. Microsoft emphasises that the physical disc will still work. However, there is one important condition: you must keep it.
Discs still work, but there's a catch
If a player sells their disc and the new owner redeems it for a digital copy, the previous user will automatically lose access to their digital copy. That means the physical disc still plays an important role in the system. Microsoft also notes that physical games will not require an internet connection to verify the disc. The company presents the new solution as part of a broader plan to protect and preserve games for the future. The disc-to-digital feature will debut on 31 August for participants in the Xbox beta program, and will later be made available to all players. For now the solution requires a console with a physical disc drive and, of course, the appropriate game disc. At the same time Microsoft describes the digital entitlement as an 'revocable digital licence' and notes that additional terms will apply. The company has not announced any plans to stop releasing games on discs.
However, the new feature arrives at a very interesting time. Sony previously announced that from January 2028 new PlayStation games will no longer be released on physical discs. Xbox is heading in the opposite direction, allowing disc owners to obtain digital entitlements, although the solution may paradoxically lead even more gamers to take an interest in Microsoft's digital stores and services.
Source: FlatpanelsHD
