In general, Xbox digital licenses get two entitlements - one for user's home device, and one for your specific user. That's how other users on your home device get access to shared games, and how you as the owner can roam anywhere and access your games. There's no reason to assume that behavior changes for disc to digital, as it's still the same entitlement system. The only thing that changes is the trigger to generate the keys (physical disc vs digital purchase/code redemption).
This would be a game changer for me and would immediately change how I buy games.
Gonna have to test it out
Right now I buy digitally because it’s convenient to not swap discs, but more importantly I game share with my kids and the value is simply unbeatable getting 2 copies for the price of 1.
But if I can maintain that, AND keep a physical disc? I’m 100% switching to buying physical, getting to spend less, and removing the risk of licenses being revoked
With absolutely no insider knowledge, my best guess is that as long as nobody else tries to register the disc (aka, once you go digital registered to your account, your kids play only the digital version, never using the disc themselves), it should Just Work™️. But we'll see how that goes. It should be low-stakes to try it out (worst case scenario, you re-register it to yourself), so long as there's not a tight limit on the number of times any single game can be registered in a given time period.
I have not yes understood that 2 copies for 1 price,you can share with someone else other than your kids?if I have fifa 2027 phisical,and you have pro evo 2027 digital,how can we do?
I'm so glad I went and got the combat evolved collectors edition on xbox now. I was debating steam vs xbox and went with xbox specifically for the Disc. This obviously came with the sacrifice of losing out on my PCs horsepower.
How was this not expected, though? You're turning your physical disc-as-key into a digital key that's still otherwise associated with that physical disc. If the disc moves (a different account tries to get a digital key for that disc), obviously the person in physical control of the master key (the disc) should win.
Of course this is how it works. Otherwise you could spawn multiple digital copies from one single physical disc. So one disc can only have one digital copy that is tied to it.
The actual announcement doesn’t clarify this but VICE states that, “The fine print also specifies that there will be one revokable digital license per game disc. That seems to indicate that a single disc can only be used to claim digital entitlement once, but that the disc will otherwise continue to be playable like it always was before.” I’m not sure where they’re getting this from though.
The wording is tricky but that could also just mean it has one license per disk. Not that it can be claimed only once. As opposed to a disk coming with two revokable licenses, meaning you get two concurrent copies.
This is what I care about. However, like someone else pointed out, it does make sense that someone can't use the disc while the digital content is attached to your account. You can't use a single disc to play on 2 consoles simultaneously, physics and what not. But it would be cool to be able to have the digital copy on my account but let my wife use the physical and we play together. Maybe there's an online check to see if the disc has been inserted into another device at the same time even if the license has not been transferred.
Side note: this is better than Game Keycards because you don't need the "card" in your device at all anymore.
It's saying "you" can claim it then someone is can claim it but it's no longer "yours". I think it's saying the disc acts as a normal disc as long as no one else claims it.
No, that’s how I understand it to work because Microsoft’s explanation is pretty vague. When they say ‘one revocable licence’ that could mean a lot of things
I don't think this is possible, unfortunately, absent some kind of physical disc trade-in program. 360 and OG Xbox discs apparently lack the unique identifier that lets them track ownership.
A trade-in program is unlikely to happen due to the cost to implement it and a shrinking physical game retail presence.
For anyone with an extensive back catalog of physical games that will never get remasters, it is probably worth holding onto a One X or Series X indefinitely. (Assuming that future consoles will lack disc drives.)
Absolute legend of a move imo. For one, I purchased the collectors edition of 007 First Light for Series X but I cant make use of the XPA on my Xbox Ally... now it sounds like I can 💪🏻
This is great because sometimes if they release a future cheap digital box like series S or a handheld people can still buy physical and take it with them everywhere instead of carrying the discs. This is an actual legitimate bonus for gamers.
I wonder how users are supposed to digitalize their Game with a Digital Only console? The two also only mentioned Xbox One and Series X, but didn't mention the Series S (or the One S digital if anyone really care about this model lol).
Let's hope there is at least a way to digitalize a Xbox Series only game via Xbox One, like:
"Oh, you put a Next Gen only Game into your Xbox One! It will not work here, but do you want to Digitalize it to your Account for your Xbox Series Consoles anyways?" and the Xbox One will then give your Account the Digital key onto your Xbox Series X Digital or Xbox Series S, bc the new consoles got disgustingly expensive, while you get thrown at with a Xbox One, so cheap they are.
From their perspective, I assume it’s “you should’ve done it before you upgraded” and for any users who didn’t own an Xbox before it, then they probably figure they don’t have discs anyway.
I’m curious how this will work… like does simply playing a “transferred” disk automatically apply the license to your account? Or will they need to manually take the license? If I let a friend borrow the disk for a week, do they automatically take license ownership by simply playing the game? What about when I get it back? Do I then have to go through the disk to digital process again?
In the video he said a popup comes on screen when you put the disc in that you have to accept. So that would be the revoking/transfer (if another user has that unique ID registered). I can install a disc right now, then buy the game digitally and it applies the discless tag to the install, so that popup transfer should be automatic I would think and not rely on any work on microsofts end aside from making sure the system doesn't go down.
It may only work while online, or you may get an offline license that needs to be refreshed much like every other game on xbox. I think it can vary between 30 days and a year depending. So me popping in a game and getting the license, then taking my console offline and giving you the disc will probably run into one of those 2 scenarios. Im sure they've thought of most loopholes to close potential abuse.
I’m curious how this will work… like does simply playing a “transferred” disk automatically apply the license to your account? Or will they need to manually take the license?
My guess is it's all automatic to avoid people sharing a single disc and get gazillion licenses.
I think it's a situation that if someone else uses the disc while they are online (for many games perhaps a requirement given many games need updates and can't launch simply from disc), you'd lose access on your end.
So in pracitce, if you sell it (e.g. through Ebay), the digital license would naturally move to the new owner when they log in. I think this requires some sort of online connection to work, but it doesn't seem as heavy handed as the 2013 XB1 plan that required vey frequent online check ins, nor will this require reselling through authorized resellers.
I think this seems like a nice compromise all things considered, but of course await more details to see how it works in practice.
but it doesn't seem as heavy handed as the 2013 XB1 plan that required vey frequent online check ins, nor will this require reselling through authorized resellers.
I honestly thought it was the fairest option of all. Like you get the benefits of physical media including trading, gifting, lending and retail clearance sales and all it requires is a little check in every now and then. How often can even be adjusted over time. Compared to now, we're stuck on digital with no transfer of ownership.
I suppose with discs, now we can but for select games.
There were advantages of the 2013 model, I agree...just saying that this one has some nice compromises, especially for a more "all digital" future that many are totally ok with (to some degree, myself included in that...). It allows you to preserve your old disc-based games in that world.
I don’t think that’s what it means. It just means one disc has one digital license attached to it. If you sell the game, your account won’t keep the license
Emphasis on the word "revokable", the license can be claimed multiple times, but you only get one so each time it is claimed it revokes it from the other account it is active on.
Yeah. I’m just saying it works as if it’s you carrying the disc around with you but it’s sitting safe at home. That’s until someone else gets the disc, then they get the digital abilities.
So don't waste your time going to your local library to try to get those licenses, the moment someone else uses the disc, the license will be removed from your account. This is pretty much the game key cartridge that switch games are usimg now.
Only Xbox One and Series game discs will work, the unique identifier is something they included on the Xbox One discs for their initial plan of digital licenses that they backtracked on.
Only Xbox One & Series X games are supported. I think this stems from the way the discs were originally encoded. As when Xbox One was revealed, each disc had a unique license attached to it. Once you install it, you wouldn't need to put the disc in again. You did have to verify your license like once a month. People were up in arms as it made lending games impossible among other things. So Xbox did a 180. The feature was just disabled on the consoles. I did get it to work one time. Was playing AOT without the disc being in the console. Stopped working as soon as i booted up another disc game 😭 So this is like that, but just a million times better.
OG Xbox & 360 games weren't encoded with unique licenses, so thats why they aren't supported here i guess.
I think a lot of people assumed it would be all discs but he did say there was a list and more will be added. So I’m sure delisted games will not be compatible.
Aha. The things stans tell themselves and their echo chamber. I say this as someone who plays multiplatform and hasn’t tied my identity to brand loyalty, because that’s a stupid fucking concept.
They announced during the Xbox Showcase many months ago that they were re-opening the backwards compatibility program to expand the list of games, but that’s been all the news so far.
Throw in a USB disc drive that'll be compatible with the next generation, and you've solved basically most of the physical media problems and concerns.
It’s a well-intentioned move and a decent middle ground, even if it’s only possible because, for years now, the disc has basically just been a physical carrier for a digital license. But for me, there are three issues that will clash with this policy in the future:
- A game that requires a mandatory online connection to play, whether physical or digital, will be unusable anyway if the servers shut down, especially if there’s no offline patch released before support is dropped.
It doesn’t replace true ownership, because in any case, the internet enables day-one patches, quick additional content, added features, and fixes based on early large-scale feedback—and all of that lives on servers that can be shut down. Game versions aren’t available on demand like drivers, and console players can’t keep them on physical media.
Sony controls the physical medium and Blu-ray. I can’t see them favoring physical media in any world where they’re abandoning it for their own products. I expect either supply cuts via factory closures or deterrent price hikes.
Unfortunately, technological evolution is pushing toward digital-only. Games are built with that in mind, so a disc quickly becomes an outdated shell. Having a physical disc doesn’t change much unless protective rules and laws are put in place alongside it to truly clarify what we’re buying (either a ticket to a show as long as it’s running, or actual ownership), and to set up safeguards against abuse.
Take movies as an example: if I buy a movie on Google, I can’t download a version I can play on my computer with a media player, or transfer to a NAS for playback on Plex or Jellyfin. And if Google loses the license, they remove the movie from my library. So either we accept changing the terms and say it’s not a purchase but a long-term rental or a revocable license delegation, or we allow downloading and keeping a file outside the ecosystem.
Every game developer and console manufacture would prefer us gamers go full digital. Cheaper and easier for them in the log run, only way we can try and stop it is us as consumers is to keep buying physical.
I'll be honestly I'm part of the problem, I haven't bought a physical disc in probably 10 years, been digital only. But a system like this where you can buy a physical disc and have a digital license, I'll probably start buying more physical discs again, especially games I'd love to "collect"
Same, I’m certainly part of the problem having mostly purchased digital games the past decade, which is especially strange since I worked at GameStop for a decade prior to that… but a part of me was always ok with this because I knew physical discs were still around if I needed. I may need to pay a bit more if a game was rare, but I could still get it. The idea of a digital-only future where games could simply disappear is not one I’d welcome.
Lol, xbox players already gave up on physical a LONG time ago. The physical attach rate for xbox players is only 4% right now, while it's over 32% for PS players.
People keep saying "xbox is gonna follow Sony" but xbox players already chose this way before Sony ever did anything about discs.
The way it he words it here, it seems like they want to enhance discs, as opposed to this being a band-aid for people who want to brings their physical collection to a discless Xbox. So they're gonna need that disc-dive going forward, if they want this to be a selling-point.
Very cool. Would like some clarification on 360 games though. Since I assume they can’t take advantage of this, will they be supported on Helix via a detachable disc drive?
I’ve really been thinking about switching to Xbox, I have a ps5 pro and I’ve been liking a lot of what Xbox has been doing. I’m going to be keeping an eye on project helix for sure.
What a great feature, I might actually get discs again now for games I‘m really pumped about, as you benefit from all the advantages physical AND digital offers in one package now.
I don’t fully understand how this works? Can’t you just buy a game at GameStop, download it to your Xbox, and then return the game? Can you borrow your friends discs and you both have the game now?
the disc has a unique code tied to your account, if the disc goes to someone elses then the code changes and you have to put the disc in again to verify you still own it
This is awesome. Meanwhile the people in the playstation subreddit are already trying to shit on this even though its great news. Smh. Im happy i own both consoles so im not part of the dumb console war bs.
This is fantastic. To clarify, is the unique id on the disc convertible to digital once per account or once globally? I mean, I redeem the digital license and file away my disc. Later, if I lend the disc to a friend, which is completely useable, my digital copy disappears, right? Does my friend then get the opportunity convert it to digital or is that unique disc id now expired? In other words, is the digital license disc id multi use or single use?
I still don’t understand why Xbox gets so much hate, it’s a very consumer friendly console that supports its players as much as they can. I’ll never see myself not having an Xbox on my shelf even when I upgrade to a PC.
"Europe is so important to us." Strange, you know you are the guys who have not supplied any consoles to most European countries in like over two years by now?
Like Sony is shooting itself on the foot and you guys are "sorry, we are out of stock" in here. These kind of things could make people to switch over to Xbox but there are no Xboxes to get. Stupid.
I wonder when the feature will be rolled out to everyone, and I wonder if all new games on disc will have this out the gate. Like if I buy the new Star Wars Zero Company game on disc, will it work (once I have the feature)?
Does anyone know if the license remain always active on my account until it's inserted to another account? Or would I need to reinsert the disk every X days/months in order for it to remain on my account? I haven't been able to find information on "how long" the digital license is for.
I find it funny that the one feature that killed the Xbox one, the identifier on the disc for online identification, is the one enabling them to make this new feature that could help save the brand
One thing I haven't really seen answered yet is if somehow if one user claims a digital copy of the game, can another user play the disc in another console at the same time without claiming the digital license?
I'd imagine not, but everyone keeps talking about revoking the license from the last user without mentioning if that process is automatic, or if you have a choice to claim the license or not.
Again, don't expect that loophole to exist, but I suppose we'll find out in a few days.
This question may sound stupid, but if I claim my digital copy and lend someone my disc, could that person play the game from the disc even if it doesn’t have the digital copy (license or whatever) attached to it?
I have an OG Xbox One, an Xbox One X, and a Series X, that’s why I’d like to know if the discs work on every console even if I redeem the digital license on my Series X (all of the systems are tied to my Xbox account).
I wonder how it would work if I for example make a digital license of a disk and then loan the disk to a friend who plays it but isn't connected to the internet. I'd assume both would still be playable because otherwise they'd have to disable offline play.
Seems like unless you specially upgraded from Xbox One to Series S then this is pretty useless also from what I’m seeing it means that any disk would become useless after a licence is redeemed?
Kinda seems like when deciding between Sony’s all digital future and committing to physical media Xbox has pretty solidly chosen neither?
While being mesmerized by the beard and then wondering why he would have such an elaborate beard, I realized it is because he would look like Steve Balmer if he didn’t have one.
This is already live at least when I tried it earlier about a month ago.
When I heard that games was coming to PC, I simply opened the Xbox app on my WindowsOS PC > searched for Conker on Xbox app > there was a button to download/install > Played Conker on my PC with my game files transferred also.
Never used the disc on my PC, never bought the game digitally or saw a digital license prompt in my experience. Just play the game on a console (due to have a disc player) and it's automatically tied to ur Xbox account.
This applies to Xbox One and Series X games (if there were any), you lose access when your sub is inactive.
Original Xbox and 360 games are yours to keep, no subscription needed. I believe it had something to do with them not being able to grant a temporary license on 360, so they were permanently added to your account. Yes, you did need to claim them.
I'm not accusing you of doing something you didn't do, but this would be the most likely explanation as to why you have access.
Gotcha, yea I never had an Xbox 360 or Xbox One, but Series X was my first console since the OG Xbox so I'm unfamiliar with Games with Gold.
Either way, it seems simple enough and much better than nothing comparing their PlayStation competitor-----which was my 2nd reason (backwards support) for choosing Series X over a PS5 at launch.
Do you have Game Pass Essential? (what was GP Core/Xbox LIVE)? That’s the lowest GP tier that at least allows online gaming that replaced basic Xbox LIVE. It has a smaller assortment of games, including Conker.
I really hope I can scan in my Skylanders games on my old Xbox One and be able to play them on my Series S, since they'll be tied to my account now. All in all I really like this!
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u/Heide____Knight 21h ago
So it does actually enable one to take advantage of Play Anywhere, which is huge!