Today, Microsoft announced that players will soon be able to turn their physical Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S discs into digital games. It's a good idea, but even this initial announcement has some red flags that are leaving me nervous as a physical game collector.
"Most XBOX One and XBOX Series X disc-based games support this new feature," the company says in its announcement. "Players can claim a digital entitlement by inserting a supported disc into an XBOX One or XBOX Series X console and launching the game. Once the entitlement is claimed, you can experience the benefits of digital, including XBOX Play Anywhere and XBOX Cloud Gaming where supported, while your physical disc continues to work exactly as it always has."
The feature will enter testing for Xbox Insiders on August 31. No information has yet been provided on when it will roll out to all Xbox users. "We’re starting with thousands of titles, and we’ll continue to add more over time," the publisher says.
In theory, this is a great feature. It offers both the convenience of digital games and the ownership rights of physical ones. While the official announcement isn't specific on this point, The Verge reports that the digital entitlement is tied to the disc itself. That means that you'll be free to trade or resell your disc games even after you've claimed a digital version, and that entitlement will simply carry over to the new owner.
As much as I enjoy the little rituals associated with physical media, that's not why I've argued that PlayStation's decision to end discs is bad for everyone .
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