Want to Save Your Game Collections Before the Death of Physical Discs? Xbox Might Be Offering a Way to Do Just That for Its Users

By now, most gamers are aware that Sony will be discontinuing physical game discs beginning in January 2028. Senior Director for Sony Interactive Entertainment Content Communications, Sid Shuman, explained the move as being “in response to shifting trends in consumer preference” in a post on the PlayStation blog. Additionally, Sony confirmed it would delete over 550 digital movie and television titles from people’s accounts, while offering no form of reimbursement for these purchases.

Both moves have outraged many, from gamers to politicians, some of whom have accused the company of killing ownership and eroding the rights of consumers. Yet Microsoft still seems to be planning to follow Sony’s lead in the near future by discontinuing physical discs for Xbox.

However, according to The Verge’s Tom Warren, unlike Sony, Microsoft has also quietly been testing a feature that would allow users to digitize their current physical library, so that nothing is lost. The Disc2Digital feature would have a few drawbacks when it comes to older games, but overall, it seems like a decent way to ensure players retain access to their game collections even after physical discs and disc drives become obsolete.

How Xbox’s Potential Disc2Digital Feature Would Work

Supposedly, Disc2Digital would be an uncomplicated process. Xbox users would simply insert a game disc compatible with the feature into their console, then install and play it. By doing this, the system would then grant players a digital entitlement for the discs through the Microsoft account associated with their Xbox.

Digital entitlements would be an experience not unlike purchasing a digital copy in the Microsoft Store, so dealing with them shouldn’t be a problem for long-time Xbox users. However, they will also be married to the specific game disc they are for. So, if a user plays the game in one Xbox profile and then switches to another, the entitlement moves from one account to the other. The same goes if a player loans a disc out to a friend; the digital entitlement would then go to the friend’s account.

Additionally, for games found on Xbox Cloud Gaming, those with Game Pass subscriptions should still be able to stream, while Xbox Play Anywhere titles would be accessible on handhelds and PCs. 

What Else Would the Xbox Digital2Disc Feature Offer?

For those concerned about digitizing multi-disc titles or bundled discs, Disc2Digital should work with them as well. Best of all, digitizing a physical disc doesn’t mean that it’s no longer playable.

There are a couple of catches to this potential feature, though. Allegedly, Disc2Digital won’t work on discs for the original Xbox or Xbox 360. Instead, it will only be available for Xbox Series X and Xbox One discs. However, some Xbox One discs might not be compatible with digitization, depending on how old the game is.

Still, the fact that Microsoft has been testing a feature that lets players maintain their physical game collection without losing out if future Xbox consoles come without a disc drive seems like a better move than Sony’s. This way, users continue to have ownership of their game collection and don’t risk losing games entirely if Xbox deletes older titles. However, the whole debacle has demonstrated just one more way in which physical media is superior to digital media.

(featured image: Pexels/Sergei Starostin)

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