Xbox to offer digital licences with physical disc purchases

DeadSkullzJr · 2026-08-26T18:47:13+0100

"one revokable digital licence"

So wait... What if someone who has a physical copy of a game, uses that license on the new system, then sells the physical copy later on. Does license generation just occur on a per account / system basis based on the disc being popped in? So basically, game key cards.

Scarlet · 2026-08-26T18:50:51+0100

DeadSkullzJr said:
"one revokable digital licence"

So wait... What if someone who has a physical copy of a game, uses that license on the new system, then sells the physical copy later on. Does license generation just occur on a per account / system basis based on the disc being popped in? So basically, game key cards.

It's interesting phrasing for sure. Given their stressing on it having all the benefits if digital ownership though, I would assume you don't need the disc in to be able to play them digitally. I don't think that would really work with the Xbox Cloud stuff either.

Not long to wait to find out though. It's nice to have some seemingly positive news out of these big companies in my mind.

DiscostewSM · 2026-08-26T18:58:03+0100

I'm seeing that note of one revokable license. It could mean that once redeemed, no one else can redeem it, like if you sell the game due to there being a unique signature on the disc. But I also see that as the mere fact of being revokable, that if you did redeem and sold the game, and for some reason, MS revokes the license, you are then out of a game.

Scarlet · 2026-08-26T19:03:30+0100

DiscostewSM said:
I'm seeing that note of one revokable license. It could mean that once redeemed, no one else can redeem it, like if you sell the game due to there being a unique signature on the disc. But I also see that as the mere fact of being revokable, that if you did redeem and sold the game, and for some reason, MS revokes the license, you are then out of a game.

According to The Verge, it seems to work by tying the licence to the disc. When you put the disc into your console and boot the game, you now have that licence until it's booted in another system or under another profile.

If that is accurate, it seems like a very solid system that does just give you the flexibility of digital ownership while still having a physical disc.

They don't seem to give a source to that though, so pinch of salt until things are clarified from Xbox:
https://www.theverge.com/tech/984936/xbox-disc-to-digital-feature-official

Exnor · 2026-08-26T19:06:10+0100

This is a very interesting proposal.

I have a decent amount of Xbox games, and i would not mind not having to insert the disk every time i want to play them IF this means that once i sell my copy of those games, the new owner can also play them (and revogue my license for the digital copy of course).

Also this is only good news if the next gen come with a OD option.

Post automatically merged: Today at 7:07 PM

DiscostewSM said:
I'm seeing that note of one revokable license. It could mean that once redeemed, no one else can redeem it, like if you sell the game due to there being a unique signature on the disc. But I also see that as the mere fact of being revokable, that if you did redeem and sold the game, and for some reason, MS revokes the license, you are then out of a game.

I hope that is not what it means. That would be even worse than $$ony move.

ChibiMofo · 2026-08-26T19:08:58+0100

Digital Foundary has spoken on this subject over the past couple of weeks. Each Xbox One and later disc has a unique code on it (unlike PlayStation discs) that allows MSFT to do this. You redeem your digital license by logging into your account, putting the disc in to prove you own it, and getting the license. However, if someone else later does the same thing with your disc (because, for example, you have sold it), you loose your digital license and they gain it. It's more than fair and Sony cannot offer the same because they did not go to the trouble of putting unique information on each physical disc.

It's kind of funny because MSFT started doing this because of their ill-fated Xbox One launch that was going to prevent you from selling or sharing your discs, and now that feature allows them to offer something Sony cannot.

(Do you really think publishers of these games would agree to this plan if you could just go out, by 400 Xbox games, put each disc in, get the license, and then sell the discs to the next person who would do the same??? C'mon! This system is fair. You get the game license so long as you own the disc. How can anyone whine about that "restriction"?

Oh, right. Entitled Gamer Syndrome (EGS).

Exnor · 2026-08-26T19:09:59+0100

From ArsTechnica:

The program—announced today ahead of testing for Xbox Insiders starting August 31—will let players claim a “digital entitlement” for “most Xbox One and Xbox Series X disc-based games” simply by inserting the disc into a console and launching it. That game will then be playable completely digitally, without the need to ever insert the disc, as long as you (or a member of your family account) is logged in. The digital entitlement will also allow access to features like Xbox Play Anywhere (for play on PC) and Xbox Cloud Gaming, for supported titles.

Microsoft says that your physical disc will “continue to work exactly as it always has” after the digital entitlement is claimed. But before you get any ideas, the fine print on the announcement mentions that there is only “one revokable license per game disc,” so if you resell that disc or loan it to a friend, that digital entitlement could be transferred to a new account when someone else puts it into their console.

Source: ArsTechnica

RyanTheArchivist · 2026-08-26T19:10:22+0100

DiscostewSM said:
I'm seeing that note of one revokable license. It could mean that once redeemed, no one else can redeem it, like if you sell the game due to there being a unique signature on the disc. But I also see that as the mere fact of being revokable, that if you did redeem and sold the game, and for some reason, MS revokes the license, you are then out of a game.

Also not all games on the Xbox One have their own signatures. That wasnt a thing at launch.

DiscostewSM · 2026-08-26T19:20:39+0100

Scarlet said:
According to The Verge, it seems to work by tying the licence to the disc. When you put the disc into your console and boot the game, you now have that licence until it's booted in another system or under another profile.

If that is accurate, it seems like a very solid system that does just give you the flexibility of digital ownership while still having a physical disc.

They don't seem to give a source to that though, so pinch of salt until things are clarified from Xbox:
https://www.theverge.com/tech/984936/xbox-disc-to-digital-feature-official

In that is the case, it would seem a persistent internet connection is required.

tech3475 · 2026-08-26T19:22:41+0100

If the digital license is transferable like some rumours suggested, I wonder if that means activation checks to prevent abuse?

Lodad · 2026-08-26T19:34:09+0100

Scarlet said:
According to The Verge, it seems to work by tying the licence to the disc. When you put the disc into your console and boot the game, you now have that licence until it's booted in another system or under another profile.

If that is accurate, it seems like a very solid system that does just give you the flexibility of digital ownership while still having a physical disc.

They don't seem to give a source to that though, so pinch of salt until things are clarified from Xbox:
https://www.theverge.com/tech/984936/xbox-disc-to-digital-feature-official

It sounds like a fair enough system on paper. The last one to use the physical disc has the license. It seems like it's only as good as the system it's built upon, though. Does the license need to authenticate with servers before you can initially use the disc in the first place? If that's the case, it's all still dust when the servers inevitably shut down.

Edit: also, what about being completely offline? Can you put a disc in a network-disabled device and still play?

Wolfy · 2026-08-26T19:52:29+0100

It definitely seems like it'll be a nice system to have from the sound of it, but there is always a possibility for shenanigans.

Scarlet · 2026-08-26T20:01:31+0100

Lodad said:
It sounds like a fair enough system on paper. The last one to use the physical disc has the license. It seems like it's only as good as the system it's built upon, though. Does the license need to authenticate with servers before you can initially use the disc in the first place? If that's the case, it's all still dust when the servers inevitably shut down.

Edit: also, what about being completely offline? Can you put a disc in a network-disabled device and still play?

Given what was said I would assume the disc still works as a disc regardless, you just wouldn't get the digital licence transfer if it's played offline? All just assumptions at this point though. We should find out more next week when people are actually trying it.

Kioku · 2026-08-26T20:21:22+0100

DiscostewSM said:
In that is the case, it would seem a persistent internet connection is required.

Akin to current digital licensing, I assume yes. Otherwise, it creates an obvious loophole.

Post automatically merged: Today at 8:22 PM

Lodad said:
Edit: also, what about being completely offline? Can you put a disc in a network-disabled device and still play?

Why would you not be able to?

Marc_LFD · 2026-08-26T20:22:44+0100

I thought THIS is what Sony would have done during the PS3 era for digital PS2 games, but they never did.

DiscostewSM · 2026-08-26T20:27:58+0100

Kioku said:
Akin to current digital licensing, yes. Otherwise, it creates an obvious loophole.

With digital games, it's a matter of downloading the game, but once downloaded, the internet isn't needed any further (except for multiplayer and client/server-based games). This is more akin to Xbox's initial design for XB1 with doing online checks. Not exactly though, as that was both requiring the disc alongside doing a check every so often (like every 24 hours?).

Renos44 · 2026-08-26T20:39:45+0100

What hilarious about this is that this was how the xbox one was originally intended to work from the get go.
You insert a disc once register it to your account and put the disc in storage. The game is tied to your account as long as another console does not read the same disc.

But the huge communication blunder from Microsoft and backlash at the time killed it so they gutted a bunch of the original framework and have slowly be re implementing it in silence over the years.

I don't even think current Xbox's will even let you reach the dashboard without an internet connection during initial setup.

retrospect · 2026-08-26T20:44:07+0100

Renos44 said:
What hilarious about this is that this was how the xbox one was originally intended to work from the get go.
You insert a disc once register it to your account and put the disc in storage. The game is tied to your account as long as another console does not read the same disc.

But the huge communication blunder from Microsoft and backlash at the time killed it so they gutted a bunch of the original framework and have slowly be re implementing it in silence over the years.

I don't even think current Xbox's will even let you reach the dashboard without an internet connection during initial setup.

The original intent was the disc would be locked to your account to prevent resale.

This new idea is the opposite.

Naster · 2026-08-26T20:59:28+0100

What benefits? Digital games has no benefits except that you don’t need to lift your a$$ to get a game.

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