Xbox Reportedly Working on Disc-to-Digital Feature for Physical Game Owners

The writing has been on the wall for physical games, and it looks like Xbox may already be preparing for what’s next. Just as Sony confirmed it will stop producing physical PlayStation game discs starting in 2028, a new report claims Microsoft is quietly building a feature that could bridge the gap between physical and digital game ownership.

According to Tom Warren at The Verge, Microsoft has been testing a new feature internally called Disc-to-Digital. The report says references to the feature have existed inside the Xbox PC app code since May, suggesting development has been underway behind the scenes even though Microsoft has yet to announce it publicly.

Rather than replacing your physical collection, the reported system would convert eligible Xbox game discs into digital entitlements. The process is said to be fairly straightforward. Players would insert a supported Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S disc, install the game, launch it while signed into a Microsoft account, and receive a digital license linked to that specific disc.

Interestingly, the report claims the entitlement isn’t permanently linked to one account. If the physical disc changes hands, the digital entitlement reportedly moves with it once the new owner signs in and verifies the disc. Warren also says Microsoft intends to support games bundled with Xbox consoles as well as certain multi-disc releases, although compatibility may vary depending on when individual discs were manufactured.

The report also notes that Xbox 360 and original Xbox discs aren’t expected to be supported under the rumored program. Meanwhile, the mentions Microsoft still hasn’t fully decided whether its next-generation Project Helix console will ship with a disc drive, making this feature appear even more relevant if Xbox eventually embraces a fully digital future. As of now, Microsoft hasn’t officially confirmed Disc-to-Digital feature. If we get any confirmation, we’ll let you know.