Microsoft explored true Xbox digital ownership in the year 2011, but ultimately scrapped the idea, according to a new report.
According to The Verge’s Tom Warren, Microsoft was investigating a different approach to digital game ownership in 2011, two years before the Xbox One launched. Sources familiar with the company’s plans told him that the company was exploring several concepts, including digital gifting, the ability to recycle digital games, and a system that would allow players to exchange physical discs for digital versions at retail stores.
The ideas were part of an overall vision for the Xbox One, which was originally designed around a more connected digital ecosystem. Microsoft had planned for the console to be always online, a requirement that would have enabled features such as digital game sharing. However, the company ultimately abandoned its always-online requirement following significant backlash surrounding the Xbox One’s 2013 launch.
While many of those plans disappeared, Warren reported that some of the underlying technology and ideas have survived. Microsoft made the decision to give Xbox game discs unique identifiers that could be read by the console. This technology has now helped in making the company’s disc-to-digital feature possible. The feature allows owners of certain physical Xbox games to insert a compatible disc into an Xbox console with a disc drive and obtain a digital version of the game. Warren noted that the decision made 15 years ago has ultimately contributed to Microsoft’s current game-preservation efforts and could potentially pave the way for newer forms of digital ownership in the future.
Earlier this month, Microsoft introduced Xbox disc to digital licensing, giving Xbox Insiders a new way to access supported games without keeping the physical disc inserted. The feature applies to eligible Xbox One and Xbox Series X game discs. When a supported disc is used while signed into an Xbox account, Microsoft will grant a digital license associated with that physical copy. Once claimed, the game can be accessed without having the disc inserted, although not every Xbox One or Xbox Series X disc is currently eligible.
