Major Publishers Like Ubisoft & Square Enix Opt Out of Xbox’s New Disc-to-Digital Initiative

If you were hoping to turn more of your physical Xbox games into digital licenses, you would be disappointed to know that Ubisoft and Square Enix are reportedly sitting out Microsoft’s new Disc-to-Digital program. This also means that several popular games from these publishers remain unsupported during the early testing phase.

Not every Xbox disc gets the digital treatment

Microsoft launched the Disc-to-Digital feature for Xbox Insiders on August 31. Later, the company expanded the feature to every Insider ring. The program lets eligible physical games gain digital licensing, giving players access to Xbox’s digital features without completely giving up their physical discs.

That sounds useful, especially as the industry continues moving toward digital games. However, early testers have already discovered that publisher participation is not universal. According to multiple Reddit posts like this one here suggests that Ubisoft titles show a “Digital license unavailable” message when players insert a supported disc. The message also states that the game is not participating in digital licensing.

According to @LarryBundyJr on X, Square Enix and Bandai Namco appears to have taken a similar approach. Players have reported seeing the same message when attempting to use the feature with certain Square Enix games.

Publishers still have the final say

Neither Ubisoft nor Square Enix has publicly explained why their games are missing from the program. Microsoft hasn’t yet published the supported catalog since the feature remains in testing. However, fans are doing their bit to track titles that are supported under this program.

Microsoft is expected to expand Disc-to-Digital support as testing continues, so additional games could become eligible later. It remains unclear how widely publishers will support the program once Microsoft expands it.

Will publisher opt-outs limit Xbox’s Disc-to-Digital appeal? Let us know in the comments below.

via: Insider Gaming