Xbox is reportedly testing a feature that would let users turn their physical game collections into digital game libraries amid a wider industry shift away from video games on disc.
Today, PlayStation became the first of the big three console makers to unveil a plan to completely stop producing disc-based games in 2028, but the writing's been on the wall for many years now as publishers increasingly choose digital-only releases over the hybrid digital/physical launches that have been the norm for several console generations. Meanwhile, Nintendo's shift toward digital releases and embrace of game-key cards, as well as PlayStation's plan to kill discs entirely and Take-Two's decision to make GTA 6 a digital-only release foretell a bleak future for physical game collectors, but Xbox reportedly has a plan which, in theory, could be a genuine boon for players choosing to embrace all-digital consoles in the future.
The Verge reports that an Xbox disc-to-digital feature is in the testing phase weeks after it found references to "enable Disc2Digital" buried in the Xbox PC app's code. The way it works seems pretty simple. If the version in testing is implemented, owners of a compatible physical game will obtain a digital entitlement by inserting the disc into an Xbox console and installing it.
Digital ownership of the game will be tied to the physical disc and will be transferable from one account to another, meaning you'd be able to trade games with friends and switch profiles just like you would with an actual disc. Naturally, you'll need a Microsoft account to register your disc-to-digital games, but there seem to be relatively few caveats to Xbox's disc-to-digital plan from this limited reporting. The Verge reports that Game Pass subscribers will be able to stream their physical-to-digital games as long as those games are available on Xbox Cloud Gaming, and likewise, if a game is supported by Xbox's Play Anywhere deal, physical Xbox games will be playable on PC via this new system.
As manufacturers seemingly move toward discless consoles – although it's currently unconfirmed whether Xbox's next-gen Project Helix will be digital only – and with older generations of hardware succumbing to inevitable decay, there's a real threat that physical games will become harder and harder to actually play on first-party systems. Microsoft's apparent solution, however, is reportedly in the works for Xbox Series X and Xbox One consoles and won't be available for Xbox 360 and original Xbox games, many of which are compatible with current-gen Xbox hardware.
There's a good chance we'll get the full details from Microsoft itself on Xbox's reported disc-to-digital feature shortly, but in the meantime, I'm more curious to hear if PlayStation has a plan in place for physical collectors considering Sony's the only manufacturer to actually confirm it's ditching discs for the next generation.
PlayStation killing discs is bad for everyone, whether you care about physical games or not
