Xbox Copies PlayStation With All-Digital Future, But There’s One Unique Benefit In The Works

Following Sony PlayStation’s controversial announcement that it’s ditching physical media in 2028, a new report claims that Microsoft could follow suit, but with a unique twist.

Yesterday, Sony PlayStation sent shockwaves across the video game industry, announcing that as of 2028, it will no longer be producing its first-party games on a physical disc, as it prepares for an all-digital future with the PlayStation 6.

As you can imagine, this news did not go down well with gamers, especially those who still love to collect physical media, and many will be hoping that with the mass backlash continuing to pick up momentum, Sony might do the right thing and make a dramatic U-turn.

READ MORE: Xbox’s Project Helix Could Outperform The PS6 With One Simple Feature

What Is Microsoft Planning With Its Next-Gen Xbox?

According to a report from The Verge, it’s believed that Microsoft also intends to move away from physical media with its next-gen console, currently dubbed Project Helix, which will apparently have no disc drive. It’s also claimed that a disc-to-digital feature is currently being explored behind the scenes.

But, how will we be able to digitise our games from a physical disc if Project Helix has no disc drive? The obvious assumption would be that the process could be completed on current-gen consoles, such as the Xbox Series X.

While we can only speculate at this time, it seems logical that you’d put a physical game into the Xbox Series X disc drive, and then it implements digital access to that game, attached to your account, thus not needing the disc to launch it.

Those digitsed games (as well as the digital games you’ve purchased from the store) will then remain attached to your account and can be accessed on the next-gen Xbox console library. However, if you choose not to digitise your game, the disc will still work as originally intended, just not on the next-gen console.

It’s also claimed by The Verge that if you were to lend that game to a friend or sell it on, the digital ownership will be transferred from you to them. When that happens, you will not be able to access that digital game in your library. This process sounds familiar to the Nintendo Switch 2’s Game-Key Cards.

Project Helix, Microsoft

Furthermore, it’s also reported that having the option to digitise games is not exclusive to Xbox Series X titles. It will reportedly work for previous-generation games, going as far back as the original Xbox.

If this rumour is true, it begs the question: if we can digitise our physical discs, why not just let us play those discs on the next-gen Xbox? We can only assume that it’s a cost-cutting measure from Microsoft, as it will no doubt be significantly cheaper to manufacture an Xbox console without a disc drive. Either way, while it would be a better scenario than Sony’s current direction, it’s still not perfect.

Why Are Gamers Angry With Sony PlayStation’s All-Digital Announcement?

Of course, the most obvious point is that gamers like to physically own the content they’ve purchased and hold it in their hands. That disc, whether it's a video game or movie, can also be kept forever.

When it comes to digital content, we technically don’t own the digital media we purchase. It’s more like a license to access that content. As such, as we’ve recently seen with Sony removing over 500 digital movies from PlayStation gamers' library, we can have that access revoked at any point with no refund.

Secondly, if Sony PlayStation sees this announcement through and doesn't make a U-turn, it will essentially hold all the playing cards. They can charge what they want and for how long. And that extends to the codes-in-a-box at retail stores. It also means that you won’t be able to trade or purchase second-hand games at a lower cost. The latter of which is something that publishers have been trying to eradicate for years.

The other reason that gamers are angry is what it could mean for the video game industry as a whole when it comes to how consumers access their content. We already know that Rockstar Games will be launching GTA VI as a digital-only game, and it probably won’t be long until other third-party publishers follow the lead of Rockstar Games and Sony PlayStation.

For a company that claims to be “For the Players” and that “Play Has No Limits”, we can only hope that Sony sees the error of its ways and goes back on its all-digital delivery by 2028; otherwise, it might not work out too well for Sony when the PlayStation 6 arrives.

READ MORE: PS6 'Death Day' Hinted By PlayStation Before The Next-Gen Is Even Underway