Xbox Disc-to-Digital Is Now Live for All Users

Xbox has rolled out its disc-to-digital program to all users today, after an earlier testing phase with Insiders. Insert a physical disc, hit "Claim digital license" from the game's app menu, and you're done — no disc required to play that game going forward. You can also just launch the game from the disc and the license gets claimed automatically.

Not every game is supported. Xbox 360 and original Xbox titles are excluded for now, and participation is publisher-dependent. Square Enix is the most notable holdout at the moment, but the list has been growing — Ubisoft joined earlier this month, and Sega came on board today. A fan-made compatibility list already counts over 1,400 supported games. If you plan to convert a collection, it's worth heading to Settings > Devices & connections > Disc and turning off "Play disc automatically" so games don't start installing the moment you insert them.

The program lands against a backdrop of the industry's slow drift away from physical media. Sony has announced it will stop producing physical discs for PlayStation games in 2028, and analysts widely expect Xbox to follow suit by the next console generation. Digital copies already outsell physical ones on both platforms, but plenty of players still have large disc libraries built up over the years — this program is a direct answer to that reality.

One important caveat: going digital doesn't mean you can ditch the disc. If you sell it or someone else redeems it, you could lose the digital license. Keep the disc somewhere safe — it just doesn't need to leave the shelf anymore.