Microsoft could test Disc2Digital to move Xbox towards all-digital without killing physical games

Microsoft is reportedly exploring a way to push Xbox towards an all-digital future-without completely wiping out physical games. Here’s what that could look like.

Why Sony’s PS5 disc decision has players worried

Sony caused a stir by announcing a complete and permanent end to disc-based games for its PS5. It is a historic strategic move, and it has proved divisive. Many players remain attached to boxed copies-and especially to discs-because they represent owning a game in a tangible, “proper” form.

By that logic, Microsoft would be expected to follow Sony down the same road. However, it may be working on a system designed to avoid fully killing off physical games… at least for now.

As Tom Warren at The Verge reports, Microsoft is currently said to be testing internally a feature called Disc2Digital. The idea is straightforward: allow physical games to be converted into digital versions, while still retaining the disc’s role in ownership. How would that work? Let’s break it down.

How would Disc2Digital work?

Disc2Digital is reportedly intended as a long-term approach, particularly with the next console, Helix, in mind. When you insert a disc into your console, the system would copy the data and then grant a digital entitlement to the associated Xbox account. In practice, it would be as if the player owned a digital title-meaning they could play without the disc, stream it, or use it across other platforms via Xbox Play Anywhere.

Disc2Digital and the future Xbox Helix

Even after the copy is tied to your account, the disc would not become irrelevant. If you sold or lent your physical game and it was activated on a different account, you would then lose all of your rights. That is a way of keeping the “power” with the disc, while still pushing the wider shift to digital.

At this stage, the feature is said to work only with Xbox One and Xbox Series discs. It is not yet clear whether Microsoft would roll it out on Xbox Series X/S or reserve it for the future Xbox Helix.

If Helix ends up without a disc drive, Disc2Digital could serve as a bridge: you would keep your physical library usable via your current console, without having to repurchase everything digitally on the next one. For a brand that leans heavily on its back catalogue-supported by extensive backwards compatibility-that would be the bare minimum. On the other hand, it would also imply that new releases would be 100% digital.

A compromise that still puts Microsoft in control

Either way, this approach would give Microsoft the upsides of digital while reassuring players who still value discs. But even if the disc remained “the game”, access would still ultimately depend on Microsoft’s decisions.

What happens if, overnight, the company in Redmond chose to make a game inaccessible for one reason or another? And what would stop it from charging an activation fee every time a game is resold and tied to a new account-taking a few pounds from the second-hand market?

Let’s not kid ourselves: console makers want physical games to disappear not for convenience, but to make as much money as possible.