Xbox One will require game installation to hard drive

According to an exclusive look at the Xbox One by Wired, you'll have to install games to the console's hard drive to play them. Following the installation process, you'll be able to boot games up without the disc at all, and they'll be tied to your Xbox Live account.

Wired states, "Microsoft did say that if a disc was used with a second account, that owner would be given the option to pay a fee and install the game from the disc, which would then mean that the new account would also own the game and could play it without the disc. But what if a second person simply wanted to put the disc in and play the game without installing – and without paying extra? In other words, what happens to our traditional concept of a 'used game'? This is a question for which Microsoft did not yet have an answer, and is surely something that game buyers (as well as renters and lenders) will want to know."

We've reached out to Microsoft for further comments.

UPDATE: Microsoft's Larry Hryb took to his blog to clarify what the company is willing to say about used games on Xbox One.

"While there have been many potential scenarios discussed, today we have only confirmed that we designed Xbox One to enable our customers to trade in and resell games at retail.

"Beyond that, we have not confirmed any specific scenarios.

"Another piece of clarification around playing games at a friend’s house-- should you choose to play your game at your friend’s house, there is no fee to play that game while you are signed in to your profile."

Ryan Taljonick

Ryan was once the Executive Editor of GamesRadar, before moving into the world of games development. He worked as a Brand Manager at EA, and then at Bethesda Softworks, before moving to 2K. He briefly went back to EA and is now the Director of Global Marketing Strategy at 2K.