- Xbox is reportedly working on a disc-to-digital feature for existing consoles called ‘Positron’
- The feature allows Xbox users to insert a disc and convert their games to a digital format
- A separate report also claims that Project Helix will not have a disc drive
Like PlayStation, Xbox appears to be moving away from physical games as new reports claim that Microsoft is testing a disc-to-digital feature for existing consoles and may release a next-generation Project Helix console without a disc drive.
According to The Verge, sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans claim that the company is currently working on a way for Xbox users to digitize their existing physical game library following a reference to “enable Disc2Digital” found in the Xbox PC app code in May.
The new feature, reportedly called ‘Positron’, will reportedly only work with Xbox One and Xbox Series X discs, not Xbox 360 or original Xbox consoles. However, some Xbox One discs may not work with this new feature.
“It all depends on how and when the disc was manufactured, and it may not have the features we need for this program,” Microsoft told its internal Xbox testers.
To convert a physical game to digital, users are said to only need to insert a compatible disc, install and play the game. A Microsoft account on an Xbox console provides a digital right to physical games that are tied to a specific disc and can be moved between accounts if users trade the physical game with a friend or log into a different profile and try to play a disc-based game.
The feature will also work for physical games along with a console and multi-disc titles. Players can still use the discs after converting them, but they lose their digital rights if they lend or sell the disc to someone else.
More information will arrive in the coming months, so it appears to be a feature that could be planned before the next generation Xbox console, Project Helix.
Speaking of which, it looks like Microsoft is going all in on the digital market by releasing Project Helix without a disc drive, according to Windows Central sources.
No further details were given, but it is said that new details about the console will be revealed later this year.
The Xbox reports came after Sony announced that no new PlayStation games will be released on physical disc from January 2028 onwards.
The company shared a post saying the decision is “a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly exceeds physical discs,” and will “enable us to adapt more to how most of our society prefers to access and play games today.”
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