On the very same day Sony announced it would no longer produce physical discs for PlayStation games starting in Jan. 2028, Microsoft signaled it might do something similar for Xbox.
However, it seems Microsoft is being thoughtful about all those gamers who already have a library of video games on physical discs.
According to a new report from The Verge, Microsoft employees are currently testing a new Xbox feature called “Disc2Digital” which would digitize physical game discs.
The feature just recently launched in the test phase, but was first noticed after “enable Disc2Digital” was discovered in the Xbox PC app code back in May.
Disc-to-digital games will work much like regular digital games on Xbox. Disc-to-digital games will be available on Xbox Cloud Gaming and users can stream the game with a Game Pass subscription. If the digital title is an Xbox Play Anywhere title, the disk-to-digital version will also be available on PCs and handheld devices.
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Users must be signed in to an Xbox account on an Xbox console to be granted a digital entitlement for the physical game.
Physical discs will continue to work even after the game has been digitized. However, the disc-to-digital game will be tied to the physical copy. This means if a user sells the physical disc or gives it away, they will no longer have access to the digital version. The disk-to-digital game will move from the original Xbox account to the new Xbox account based on its connection to the physical game.
The Verge reports that the disc-to-digital feature will work on most Xbox One and Xbox Series X game discs. Microsoft has told testers that some Xbox One discs may not be compatible with the feature. Disc2Digital will also not work with physical discs for the original Xbox or Xbox 360 game consoles.
While Disc2Digital seems like a sign that Microsoft plans on doing away with physical game discs like Sony, the company has yet to confirm the move to go fully digital. The move from physical discs to digital games seems inevitable, even though many gamers prefer to have physical media. However, the main complaint among gamers about digital games has long been the inability to fully own their purchases. There have been instances where digital media has been pulled from a consumer’s library or made unavailable even after they purchase the title.
Even in its testing phase, Microsoft’s Disc2Digital feature seems to show care towards its customers and their concerns about their purchases.
If Microsoft does go fully digital like Sony in the future, Disc2Digital will go a long way in making the Xbox stand out from its competitors.
