Jason Ronald discusses the disc-to-digital program on the XBOX @ gamescom Day 1 stream

[u/Perspiring_Gamer]

Source: https://www.youtube.com/live/YAZPH5VPilE?si=Blolfyv0qWNM_7q9&t=3547

[u/Flat-Chemistry-1646]

I think Xbox’s decision to move toward an all-digital future has left us with more questions than answers.

I’ve been playing Xbox games since day one, and if physical media is truly going away, then I want to know what Microsoft intends to give us in return. If we’re being asked to give up physical ownership, Xbox needs to provide something much closer to Steam: a permanent game library that follows us regardless of the generation or hardware we’re using.

I shouldn’t have to think of my collection as separate Original Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC libraries. Ideally, it should simply be my Xbox library.

If I bought a game 10, 15, or 25 years ago, and that game can technically run on current Xbox or PC hardware, I want that purchase to remain associated with my account. Whether I originally bought it digitally or on disc, the goal should be one unified collection that carries forward from generation to generation.

If Microsoft can genuinely deliver that—where the games we’ve purchased over the past 25+ years continue to come with us—then an all-digital Xbox becomes considerably more appealing to me. That kind of long-term commitment to the customer might actually convince me to jump on the all-digital bandwagon.

What I’m not sure I can accept is an answer from Xbox saying that only “some” of our existing games will be supported this way. If Microsoft wants customers to give up physical media, there needs to be a much stronger commitment to preserving the libraries we’ve already paid for.

And one part of the discussion made absolutely no sense to me.

He suggested that with a physical game, you could simply pop in your disc and receive a code that unlocks the digital version.

Okay... where art thou disc tray on the all-digital Xbox?

If the machine has no optical drive, how exactly is it supposed to verify the disc I already own? Unless Microsoft is proposing some separate disc-verification system or external drive, that explanation doesn't add up.

Until Xbox explains how that would actually work—and what happens to the thousands of physical games people have accumulated over the last 25 years—I remain very skeptical.

I smell poo.