Xbox’s brand-new feature is rescuing your physical game collection
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Microsoft has officially rolled out its Disc to Digital feature to all Xbox players following several weeks of testing through the Xbox Insider program. So your shelf full of Xbox games you’ve been hanging onto will finally have a second life in current and next-gen Xbox consoles.
Just insert a supported physical Xbox One or Xbox Series X game into a console with a disc drive, claim the digital entitlement, and you can then access that game much more like something purchased digitally. Most Xbox One and Series X discs are supported, with thousands of titles included as the program continues expanding.
Xbox discs don’t have to live in the console
If you pop a disc into an Xbox, a new Claim digital license option should appear in the game’s menu. Launching an eligible game can also automatically claim the entitlement. Microsoft has confirmed that supported games can gain the usual advantages associated with digital Xbox purchases, including Xbox Play Anywhere and Xbox Cloud Gaming where available.
This means some games originally bought for a console can potentially follow you onto a PC, handheld, or cloud-enabled device without buying them again. Furthermore, the company also added that physical discs continue working exactly as before. Previous details about the system also indicated the entitlement is tied to the particular disc, preserving the ability to lend or resell compatible games rather than permanently trapping that copy on one account.
So don’t throw the disc away after converting it. Selling or losing your game disc could also mean losing the digital entitlement if another account later claims that same copy.
It’s not all digital, all the way
Your entire collection isn’t going completely digital. Original Xbox and Xbox 360 discs aren’t currently part of the program, and publishers can choose whether their games participate. Sega and Ubisoft have joined during the rollout, though Square Enix remains a notable holdout. A community-maintained list currently counts at least 1,400 compatible games.
Still, Microsoft is continuing to expand support. Xbox has spent years pushing Play Anywhere, cloud gaming, handhelds, and digital libraries, while questions continue to surround whether its next-generation hardware will retain a disc drive. So the timing of this move might be revealing more about the next Xbox.
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