Microsoft's Disc to Digital Lets Xbox Players Claim Digital Licenses From Physical Game Discs
After a month of beta testing with Xbox Insider, Microsoft has rolled out its Disc to Digital feature for all users. This allows gamers to obtain digital licenses for certain physical Xbox One and Xbox Series X games without needing an Xbox Game Pass subscription. To redeem, users simply click "Claim Digital License" on the game tile. These licenses are linked to the Xbox account, permitting installation and gameplay without the physical disc. The feature is available on Xbox One consoles equipped with a disc drive, enabling owners of disc-less Xbox Series S or Series X to convert their physical games. Compatibility varies; while first-party titles like Halo are supported, Fallout 4 is not. Additionally, cloud gaming is limited to 15 hours per month for Game Pass Ultimate users.
Key facts
- Disc to Digital exited Xbox Insider beta and is now available to all users without an Xbox Game Pass subscription
- Digital licenses are tied to the Xbox account, not the console, and allow play without the disc inserted
- The feature works on Xbox One consoles with disc drives as well as Xbox Series X
- Microsoft provides no official list of supported games; Fallout 4 cannot yet be redeemed
- Warner Bros. Interactive's The Lego Ninjago Movie Video Game redeemed successfully, while Capcom's Dead Rising 3 did not
- Only Xbox One and Xbox Series discs are supported, likely due to unique disc identifiers absent from Xbox 360 and original Xbox discs
- Cloud gaming is capped at 15 hours per month for Game Pass Ultimate, 10 for Premium and five for Essential
- Expansion storage ranges from $200 for a 1 TB Seagate card to $550 for 4 TB
Entities
Institutions
- Microsoft
- Xbox
- Sony
- Bethesda
- Warner Bros. Interactive
- Capcom
- Seagate
- Xbox Game Pass
- Xbox Insider
- Xbox Cloud Gaming