- Microsoft has released a feature called disc-to-digital games that allows users to digitize their physical disc games.
- Microsoft says this measure is aimed towards preserving of titles and preparing for future consoles that are going disc-free.
- The feature is available for masses starting August 31 under XBOX Insiders program with thousands of titles.
Microsoft has introduced an XBOX disc-to-digital feature that takes your disc games and transforms them into digital games without involving any third party. Set to commence on August 31 with thousands of game titles, the feature is aimed at digitizing physical game collections as the gaming giant wants gamers to preserve these titles and prepare for future consoles.
XBOX announces disc-to-digital games to prepare for future consoles
According to XBOX WIRE, the new disc-to-digital feature supports both XBOX One and XBOX Series X. Here, users will be able to convert these disc-based games into digital copies that can be played anywhere using XBOX Play Anywhere as well as XBOX Cloud Gaming.
According to Jason Ronald, VP of next-gen at XBOX, the feature lets users claim a digital entitlement of physical games simply by launching the game on any XBOX One or Series X console. For now, the feature works on thousands of titles starting as early as August 31st as part of the XBOX Insider program. More titles are expected to follow soon in the coming months, ensuring users have access to their games long after the physical disc either becomes defunct or obsolete on next-gen consoles.
Note that publishers still have control over the XBOX disc-to-digital feature. It means they can choose whether or when their games can support these functionalities. This is probably a step further to becoming a digital-only and disc-free console to rival Sony’s PlayStation, which has already declared it will go disc-free from January 2028, allowing only digital-only titles on newer consoles. Note that Sony hasn’t announced such a feature yet, allowing users to convert physical discs to digital titles as of now.
How to use the disc-to-digital XBOX feature?
Well, here’s an easy-to-understand procedure to convert discs to digital using this feature on XBOX Insiders.
- Launch the game you want to digitize by inserting it into the supported console.
- Once the game is launched, XBOX will prompt users whether they want to claim digital entitlement for the game in question. Note that the game should support the feature to begin with.
- Once digitized, you can continue using the disc as a standalone game or tap on the digital title with support across devices, including PCs.
- The digitized game is linked to the account, and thus, when others try to use the physical game, it will get digitized on their accounts.
Note that there are a few nuances we aren’t aware of, such as whether it will work on XBOX 360 and how the digitized game and account ownership work. But certainly, it is a move building up the passage for next-gen consoles.
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