Microsoft has unveiled a new program allowing console owners to convert their physical game discs into digital versions. This initiative aims to modernize game collections that have accumulated over multiple console generations. The disc-to-digital program, first reported by The Verge last month, is a key element of Microsoft’s strategy to preserve video games as the company prepares its hardware ecosystem for future console generations.
How the conversion process works
It is to be noted that Microsoft will begin testing the feature with members of the Xbox Insider community on August 31, followed by a wider public rollout across Xbox One and Xbox Series X systems in the ensuing months.
The functionality will support the vast majority of disc releases across both Xbox One and Xbox Series X consoles, according to the company. Jason Ronald, vice president of Next Generation at Xbox, explained that players can unlock their digital entitlement by inserting a compatible disc into an Xbox One or Xbox Series X console and launching the game. The digital license remains tied to the physical media itself. If a user trades the disc with a friend or signs in under a different profile, the entitlement transfers accordingly to the current player holding the physical copy. Activating the digital version does not alter the physical disc, which continues to function normally in compatible disc drives. The company noted that this conversion “requires supported console with disc drive, and [an] eligible XBOX One or Series X game disc.