Xbox now lets you turn eligible physical game discs into a digital license, so you can play supported Xbox One and Xbox Series X titles without keeping the disc in the console. The conversion doesn’t damage the disc, and it can open up extra benefits like PC access through Xbox Play Anywhere and streaming through Xbox Cloud Gaming when the game supports them.
Quick answer: Insert a supported Xbox One or Xbox Series X disc into an Xbox that has a disc drive, launch the game or press the Menu button on its tile, select Claim Digital License, then choose Claim. If the title qualifies, a confirmation appears and you can remove the disc.
What you need before converting a disc
The feature is currently a test build. It is live for Xbox Insiders in the Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead rings, and it started on August 31, 2026. Before you can claim anything, your account and hardware need to meet a few conditions.
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Console | Xbox One or Xbox Series X with a disc drive. A Series S cannot perform the conversion because it has no drive. |
| Program access | Membership in the Xbox Insider Program, in the Alpha or Alpha Skip-Ahead ring. |
| System software | The latest preview build that includes the disc-to-digital feature. |
| Disc type | An eligible Xbox One or Xbox Series X disc. Original Xbox and Xbox 360 discs are not supported. |
If you’re not in the program yet, you can join through the Xbox Insider Program and download the Xbox Insider Hub on your console. You then need to have been in the program long enough to move into the Alpha ring.
How to claim a digital license from a disc
How to confirm the entitlement worked
When a claim succeeds, a toast message tells you the digital entitlement has been unlocked and briefly explains how it works. In your library, the game shows a symbol indicating it was claimed from a disc, and it will launch with the disc removed as long as the entitled account, or an eligible member of its family group, is signed in.
There is no timeout and no requirement to re-insert the disc later to keep access. The only way you lose the digital license is if someone else inserts the same disc and claims it on their own Microsoft account.
If the disc isn’t eligible, an error screen appears saying the game can’t be converted to digital. In that case the disc still plays normally, but no digital license is granted.
Which discs qualify
Most Xbox One and Xbox Series X disc games support the feature, and the rollout begins with thousands of titles rather than the entire back catalog. More are expected to be added over time. Eligibility depends on publisher opt-in, though publishers don’t need to do engineering work to enable it, which is why coverage is broad but not universal at launch.
A few things fall outside the program. Original Xbox and Xbox 360 discs are not included, in part because Xbox One and Series X discs carry a unique identifier the feature relies on. Some publishers, including Ubisoft, Sega, and Bandai, aren’t participating at the moment, so their titles may not convert even when the disc is otherwise compatible.
What happens if you sell or lend the disc
The digital license follows the disc, not the person who first claimed it. Each disc grants a single revocable license. If you sell or lend the disc and someone else inserts it and installs the game, they become the new owner of that digital entitlement, and your digital access is removed until you get the disc back or buy the game again.
The physical disc keeps working exactly as it always has. Claiming the digital version never bricks or invalidates the disc. This is why the practical advice is straightforward: keep your discs if you want to keep the digital benefits attached to them.
Where you can play after converting
Once claimed, the entitlement reaches beyond the console it was unlocked on, but only where the game already supports the relevant service.
| Benefit | What it enables |
|---|---|
| Play without the disc | Launch the installed game with the disc removed while the entitled account is signed in. |
| Xbox Play Anywhere | Access to the corresponding PC version when the title supports Play Anywhere. |
| Xbox Cloud Gaming | Streaming to supported devices where the game supports cloud play. |
Claiming a disc entitlement does not add Play Anywhere or Cloud Gaming to a game that doesn’t already support them. Those capabilities depend entirely on the individual title.
Availability and public rollout
For now, disc-to-digital is limited to Xbox Insiders in the Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead rings, with testing that began on August 31, 2026. Microsoft plans to bring it to everyone after this test phase and intends to expand the supported library over time.
No official date has been confirmed for the wider public release. Until then, the fastest way to try it is to be an active Alpha-ring Insider on a console with a disc drive, insert an eligible disc, and claim the license as described above.
