💿 Xbox figured out how to make discs and digital get along

While Sony announced the end of disc-based PS5 games after January 2028 and caused a minor uproar, Microsoft went the other direction. Starting August 31, Xbox Insiders test a long-wanted feature: insert a disc into an Xbox One or Series X, claim a permanent digital copy, leave the disc in a drawer.

The disc stays bonded to your account — lend it and the license travels with it, so you can't keep both. Trading in still works. "Thousands" of Xbox One and Series X titles supported at launch; Xbox 360 stays out for now, as The Verge first reported this summer.

The quiet logic: Project Helix, the next Xbox, likely ships without a disc drive. A disc that works once as an activation key — physical media's most dignified exit yet.

Engadget