Microsoft is granting physical Xbox disc owners the right to access their games digitally as well.

Xbox shared the news via its official website on the 26th. By inserting an owned game disc into an Xbox One or Xbox Series X console and launching the game, users can acquire a digital license. Features of the digital version such as Xbox Play Anywhere and cloud gaming are also supported, and the disc can still be played just like before.

Xbox Insider Program participants can test the feature starting on October 31. It is available for most Xbox One and Xbox Series X disc games, and the targeted titles will be continuously expanded. The official launch schedule has not been set yet.

Jason Ronald, Vice President of Gaming Devices at Xbox, stated that this is "part of our ongoing commitment to game preservation." Furthermore, CEO Asha Sharma shared on X that "physical discs are more than just discs; they hold years of memories and stories worth preserving."

This feature was once reported back in July through various overseas media outlets, but this marks the first official announcement from Microsoft. At that time, alongside details about the disc-to-digital conversion feature, news broke that Microsoft's next-gen console 'Project Helix' will not include a disc drive.