Xbox users can use last-gen Xbox One consoles to verify Xbox Series discs for disc-to-digital conversion

Gamers can use last-gen Xbox One consoles to authenticate current-gen game discs in the new disc-to-digital program.

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YouTuber Austin Evans found an interesting quirk in Microsoft's new disc-to-digital initiative. The program essentially allows users to put a game disc into their console and unlock a free digital version of the game. It's a big deal right now, and reflective of the times, as Project Helix and PS6 are poised to be disc-less, digital-only consoles.

Gamers have favored the plan, seeing it as an extension of Microsoft's Play Anywhere--another initiative that seems primed for a digital-dominant landscape. Xbox consoles are now being used as authentication machines to digitize game libraries, and Evans discovered that gamers can put in current-gen Xbox Series X games into a last-gen Xbox One to unlock the entitlement.

It's these small things that highlight the ways that Microsoft's engineers think about Xbox as a kind of timeless platform that moves through generations. At the same time, the disc-to-digital program does indeed feel like the beginning of the end for physical game discs, offering a transition point between a mostly-digital Gen 9 and a potentially all-digital Gen 10.

Not every Xbox One and/or Xbox Series game will get a digital version unlock--Ubisoft games skip the program, for example. Some games simply don't work for various reasons, and games from earlier Xbox and Xbox 360 generations don't work at all. It's also believed that so-called "year-one" discs don't convert, or games from the Xbox One's launch through around November 2014.

Frequently Asked Questions

Open a question for an answer from TweakTown's coverage of this news, or ask your own below.

Question #1

Which Xbox One and Xbox One X consoles can be used to authenticate Xbox Series discs for the disc-to-digital program?

A last-gen Xbox One or an Xbox One X can be used to authenticate current-gen Xbox Series game discs for the disc-to-digital program. Austin Evans found that putting an Xbox Series X game disc into a Xbox One could unlock the entitlement.

Question #2

Do all Xbox Series X and Xbox Series discs unlock a digital copy, or are there specific publisher or game restrictions?

No, not all Xbox Series X and Xbox One discs unlock a digital copy. The story says Ubisoft games skip the program, some games do not work for various reasons, and Xbox and Xbox 360 discs do not work at all. It also says year-one Xbox One discs, roughly from launch through around November 2014, are believed not to convert.

Question #3

Why do Ubisoft games skip Xbox's disc-to-digital program?

The piece does not give a specific reason for Ubisoft games being excluded. It only says that some games simply do not work for various reasons, and that Ubisoft games skip the program. Xbox's disc-to-digital feature is described more broadly as converting a disc's entitlement into a digital copy, but this story does not explain Ubisoft's case further.

Question #4

Can Xbox One and Xbox 360 discs be converted to digital through this program at all?

Xbox One discs can work in the program for some games, but not every Xbox One game is eligible. Xbox 360 discs do not work at all. Some older Xbox One "year-one" discs are also believed not to convert.

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Microsoft has yet to confirm whether or not its upcoming Project Helix console will have a disc drive, but given the current economics involved, and the scarcity of optical disc drives, it seems unlikely.