I Tried Xbox’s Disc-to-Digital, a Useful New Feature for Future-Proofing Games

Xbox’s disc-to-digital feature lets you insert a physical disc into a console to redeem a digital copy. Whether you’ve got a digital-only console or just want the convenience of being able to fire up a game without popping a disc in, Xbox’s disc-to-digital program has you covered. 

While some folks may worry that this spells doom for physical media, I, for one, am happy I can finally play my old Xbox One games on my Xbox Series S without repurchasing them digitally. 

I bought an Xbox Series S at its original price of $350, knowing it was a digital-only console that wouldn’t be able to play my physical Xbox One games. Buying the console made economic sense, but it also hurt a little bit every time I had a hankering to play a game such as Red Dead Redemption 2 – which I own as a physical copy – and couldn’t.

As soon as I saw the disc-to-digital feature was live, I dug out my old Xbox One and started converting games to digital licenses for access on my Series S. Now, most of my old games are playable on my digital-only console, so I don’t have to rebuy them or hook up two consoles at once.

I tried Xbox’s disc-to-digital program to help you understand everything from how it works to what it means for game ownership.

Getting a game’s digital license is easy

Claiming your digital license is fairly simple if you have a console with an optical disc drive, such as an Xbox One or an Xbox Series X. Using the disc-to-digital program, I didn’t have to buy another copy of Grand Theft Auto 5 to play on my Series S. Instead, I simply claimed the license on my Xbox One and could then play it on the newer hardware. 

Just playing a disc-based game while signed into your Xbox account generates a digital license. Once the game starts, a pop-up appears on your screen confirming that you’ve claimed a digital license. If you don’t see a confirmation, you may have already claimed the license, or it’s unsupported by the disc-to-digital program.

Playing the disc automatically claims the digital license and downloads the game to your console, which can be time-consuming. Luckily, you can quickly claim digital licenses without playing games by toggling off autoplay. Here’s how to do that.

1. From the home screen, press the Xbox buttonon your Xbox controller.
2. Go to your Profileand select Settings.
3. Next, head to Devices & connections > Disc.
4. Uncheck the option Play disc automatically(or leave unchecked if it’s off). 
5. Then, insert a disc into your console. 
6. Highlight the game on your Xbox home screen. 
7. Click the button with three horizontal dashes on your controller.
8. Select Claim digital license.
9. Follow the on-screen prompts.

After claiming a game’s digital license, you can find it by going to your Xbox home screen and thenMy games & apps > Full library > Owned games. Titles you own a digital license for will have a symbol that looks like a disc attached to them in the bottom-left corner of the game’s card.

Only certain Xbox games are supported at this time

Before you dig through your things to convert your original copy of Halo with the disc-to-digital program, know that only some Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S games are eligible. But eligibility can evolve based on different elements, such as if a game publisher is acquired or changes its stance on inclusion in the program. 

Once I plugged in my Xbox One and started converting physical discs to digital copies, I didn’t run into any issues obtaining licenses for games such as Grand Theft Auto 5 and Control.

However, I couldn’t claim a digital license for my copy of Fallout 4. Instead, I got a screen that said the game wasn’t participating in the program, which felt odd since Microsoft owns Fallout’s developer and publisher, Bethesda. 

Don’t throw out your physical discs after claiming your digital code

Claiming a digital license for a physical copy of a game doesn’t mean you should throw away, gift or sell your discs. The physical disc validates that you own the game and lets you access a digital version on other platforms. For instance, if you claim a physical game’s digital license and it’s a supported <a href="https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/xbox-play-anywhere” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>Xbox Play Anywhere title, you can then play it on other devices, such as your PC, mobile device or a handheld console. Plus, you can still insert the physical disc into consoles to play after claiming a digital license. 

The digital license follows your Xbox account, so if you sign in to another Xbox console, you can access your digital licenses and download games. But you can’t claim a digital license, sell the physical disc and keep playing the game. 

Each eligible Xbox disc has a unique identifying code attached to it, kind of like a fingerprint. If you sell or give away your physical disc, when someone else inserts the disc into their console, Xbox servers will check that disc’s code to see if it’s attached to another user account. If you claimed the game’s digital license, your license and access to the digital version of the game will be revoked. Ownership of the game and digital license then transfers to the person who got the game from you.

Will this incentivize gamers to buy more physical game discs?

In the wake of PlayStation’s plan to stop manufacturing game discs in 2028, many gamers are renewing calls to buy and save physical games. I don’t know if Xbox’s disc-to-digital program will move the needle on physical or digital game sales, and I don’t think it’s meant to.

Microsoft’s goal is to make it easier to future-proof games for newer consoles that might lack disc drives, such as my Xbox Series S, and I think this feature will succeed at that. However, I don’t think this will necessarily preserve games, especially if studios don’t want to preserve certain titles. 

Even if you have a physical disc, that doesn’t guarantee your access to the game in the future. When BioWare shut down the servers for Anthem earlier this year, for example, people could no longer play it — regardless of whether they owned a digital or physical copy. Anthem is essentially gone without a trace.

The disc-to-digital feature could incentivize gamers to buy more physical copies of games for economic reasons. For instance, if you own a physical game, you can sell the disc to someone else and recoup some of your money. If you buy a digital copy of a game, you don’t have the option to resell it if you lose interest or finish the game and don’t want to replay it. You might also be able to purchase a used physical copy of a game cheaper than a digital version, then convert it to a license yourself. In that regard, maybe companies such as GameStop are hoping this feature will revitalize the used games market.

Either way, I’m a fan of this feature since it lets me play certain games I bought for my Xbox One on disc on my digital-only Series S without making me buy them again.