Xbox started rolling out its disc-to-digital program last week. The feature lets you obtain digital licenses for your physical Xbox One and Series X|S games. The problem is, not all games are compatible, and after eight days of testing, the studios that don’t seem to want to be a part of the disc-to-digital movement have become clear.
Since Xbox hasn’t revealed which games are compatible with disc-to-digital and which ones are not, the community launched XCT.live. Users can register whether a physical copy of a game has a digital license you can obtain, and so many of you doing so means a database showcasing which games work with the new feature and which don’t has quickly formed.
While there’s the odd anomaly, what that database has now revealed is which studios don’t have any games that now offer digital licenses with physical copies. Ubisoft was the first studio confirmed to not have any disc-to-digital games. It has since become clear that Sega, Square Enix, and Bandai Namco are in the same boat.
Even though 1,408 of the 1,869 games tested so far are confirmed to work, those four studios inexplicably - as it stands - not including their games means a significant chunk of the Xbox library from the past two generations is currently incompatible with disc-to-digital. Just some of the Xbox games from those studios confirmed to not be a part of the initiative include Sonic x Shadow Generations, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Kingdom Hearts 3, and even Elden Ring since Bandai publishes the FromSoftware game outside of Japan.
Stallion83 has shared a screenshot of the message Xbox users are met with when trying to claim a digital license for a Ubisoft game. “This game is not participating in digital licensing,” a pop-up reveals, adding that “you can still play with the disc inserted.
Xbox owners now want to know why these four studios, in particular, have seemingly opted out of being a part of the, so far very popular, disc-to-digital program. One theory is that it muddies the waters for Ubisoft, as some games grant you a Ubisoft store license when bought through Xbox. Since that doesn’t apply to Ubisoft games played through Game Pass, others aren’t buying that it would be a big enough headache to warrant not taking part in disc-to-digital.
Sega is perhaps the most surprising studio to seemingly remove itself from the program. Weeks after PlayStation announced plans to stop putting its games on discs, Sega’s president effectively went against those plans, suggesting the studio will continue to release physical games even after PlayStation ends disc production. So for the studio not to support this lifeline for physical media is odd.
None of the four studios have provided reasons for why their games aren’t disc-to-digital compatible yet. There could be valid reasons why, including technical difficulties or plans that overlap with what Xbox is up to. As more games are tested and disc-to-digital becomes available to more users, the demand for answers is only going to get more intense.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.thegamer.com/xbox-disc-to-digital-ubisoft-sega-square-enix-bandai-namco-games/
