Xbox Keeping Digital Games? Does it Even Matter?
I feel like I need a cold shower and a shot of espresso to even begin any conversation surrounding…physical video games. On July 1st, 2026, Sony announced via their PlayStation Blog that beginning in 2028 there will be no more discs printed for a Sony console unless the game released prior to 2028. The internet has the power to amplify the voice of a minority group- which can be great sometimes. But this can also distort peoples perception of a situation; which can cause a person to think that an affected group is much larger than it really is. An example I often use is EarthBound; EarthBound is one of the most beloved games in internet culture and discussions, but good luck trying to find an EarthBound fan who actually beat the game in real life. I say all this because the unfortunate reality is that many hardcore gamers (myself included) have slowly drifted towards digital games. It was around 2021-2022 that I began purchasing big AAA titles digitally on a regular basis. But if you were to lay all the facts on the table, physical gamers are right to have their grievances and digital gamers are wrong not to care. We have seen countless times that a digital “purchase” is more like renting access than actual ownership.
You wouldn’t like it if an Ikea employee knocked on your door to take back the lamp you buoght five years ago, no? So why do we leave that possibility open for Sony and other companies?
Ever since the dramatic news and backlash a month and a half ago, tons of rumors surrounding Xbox’s next console have been circulating. The biggest rumor is that they’re working on a “disc to digital” device. One can only speculate that this will be an additional device the consumer would have to purchase which will allow them to scan their games and convert them into digital keys for their next-gen Xbox.
People were quick to bring up the classic 2013 video put out by Sony themselves in which Shuhei Yoshida hands Adam Boyes a physical video game; it was a direct and brutal blow at Xbox who were at the time dipping their toes into DRM. Thirteen years later and that video has become one of the biggest pieces of irony in gaming history.
The sixth generation was arguably the greatest in gaming history. While a commercial flop, the GameCube offered fans a beautifully unique library of exclusive games. The same goes for the Sega Dreamcast. Microsoft entered the industry with the Xbox, a console that was backed by tons of exclusive undeniably high quality games (ahem…did I make it obvious enough that Xbox has been missing that for a decade plus?)
And of course, who can forget Sony’s behemoth of a machine- the PlayStation 2. Still the best selling console of all time; at least according to Sony who keeps magically finding new sales data every time the Nintendo Switch comes close. After the PS2, Sony famously began enjoying the smell of their own farts, that is to say they entered the seventh generation incredibly cocky alongside their six-hundred dollar PlayStation 3. It got so bad that Ken Kutaragi even insinuated that the PS3 was so desirable that people should be motivated to work more just to buy one. This behavior caused Sony to trail behind the Xbox 360 during the seventh generation for the first few years. It really wasn’t until the 2010’s when the PS3 became a powerhouse with a stack of high quality exclusives like Uncharted 2 and Resistance 3.
So I ask you- can the same thing happen again?
No. At least by my estimate. While yes, I love the idea of an arrogant corporation getting a brutal wake up call, the circumstances are just far too different today. For one, Xbox has proven to be an inept, laughable, and floundering organization. Yes they’ve had some enjoyable and pro-consumer ideas., but they’ve struggled to build a catalog of strong exclusive games and struggled to keep their studios healthy and thriving. Look no further than the fact that nobody seemed to really care about Halo Campaign Evolved- roughly only 1% of PlayStation players interacted with it. Imagine if Nintendo remade a classic game of theirs like Super Mario 64 or Ocarina of Time, released it on PlayStation and Xbox, and nobody cared. That is evidence enough that Xbox is a hollow shell of its former self.
And the disc to digital concept- wouldn’t that just be for backwards compatibility? Why wouldn’t they just sell a detachable disc drive like Sony did with the PS5? And if it’s just for backwards compatibility, wouldn’t it be better to just keep your old consoles?
As Phil Spencer once famously said in an interview, losing so many people during the transition into the eight generation was catastrophic to Xbox. People weren’t really knowledgeable on digitally purchasing a game back in 2008. Physical was still the king at the time. Even a company like Sony was unsure of how to transfer the storefront to the PS4. But starting with the eighth generation we now have a universal storefront. After spending hundreds of dollars on the PS4 store, a huge boon of a PlayStation 5 would be further access to all of those previously purchased games. So if you bought an Xbox for Game Pass, you’d have to start all over again with your digital library. I don’t see people abandoning that same digital library just to spite Sony when their PS6 which costs over a thousand dollars releases.
But in the words of the New York Lottery slogan “Hey, you never know.”
