- Xbox is reportedly working on a disc-to-digital feature for existing consoles called 'Positron'
- The feature will allow Xbox users to insert a disc and convert their game to a digital format
- A separate report also claims that Project Helix won't have a disc drive
Like PlayStation, it seems that Xbox is moving away from physical games as new reports claim that Microsoft is testing a disc-to-digital feature for existing consoles and could release a next-gen 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 supposedly only work with Xbox One and Xbox Series X discs, not with Xbox 360 or original Xbox consoles. However, some Xbox One discs might 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, it's said that users would only need to insert a compatible disc, install, and play the game. A Microsoft account on an Xbox console will grant a digital entitlement for physical games, which are tied to a specific disc and can be moved between accounts if users swap the physical game with a friend or log in to a different profile and try to play a disc-based game.
The feature will also work for physical games bundled with a console and multi-disc titles. Players can still use the discs after converting them, but they'll lose their digital entitlement if they loan 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 for before the next-gen Xbox console, Project Helix.
Speaking of which, it seems Microsoft is going all in on the digital market by releasing Project Helix without a disc drive, according to Windows Central sources.
No additional details were provided, but it's 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 that the decision is "a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs," and will "enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today."
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