Xbox’s Project Helix Reportedly Goes Disc-Free, Turning Games Digital

PlayStation has confirmed it’s winding down physical game sales: starting in January 2028, it will stop distributing PS5 games on discs, making future releases digital-only.

Windows Central later reported that Xbox could be taking a similar direction. The outlet claims Microsoft’s next console, Project Helix, would ship without a disc drive and would function as an all-digital system—an approach that many players see as effectively ending physical video games, aside from Nintendo’s cartridge-based model for select titles.

Unsurprisingly, this shift has players asking what happens to existing collections. If the next generation is digital-only, do today’s physical purchases become unusable? Will players need to keep older hardware to access their libraries? And where does backward compatibility fit into the picture?

Xbox Reportedly Testing a Disc-to-Digital System

There’s still no clear answer to those concerns across both platforms, and the industry likely won’t get concrete until PlayStation and Xbox start pushing their 2028 next-gen lineups. Still, one newer report offers a potentially useful lifeline on the Xbox side.

Per The Verge’s sources, Xbox has been testing a disc-to-digital feature. The idea is straightforward: insert your physical game disc into the console, then install it to receive a digital version. The digital license would be tied to your account, with the claim that access remains linked to ownership of the disc.

However, the same system reportedly wouldn’t treat borrowed or resold discs the same way. If a disc is lent to a friend or sold to someone else, the digital rights would be revoked. The report also says the approach is limited to Xbox One and Xbox Series X discs.

There’s an additional complication: some Xbox One discs may fail to work depending on when the disc was manufactured, according to the same claims.

What It Could Mean for Your Physical Library

If the testing results hold up and Project Helix truly ships without a disc drive, a feature like this could be a clever compromise—helping players with large physical collections move forward without losing their games outright. In that scenario, Xbox Series X owners could potentially digitize their existing discs and carry those purchases into the next console generation.

That said, nothing is confirmed for launch. The feature is currently described as an internal test, so players will need to wait and see what it looks like in practice, whether it reaches customers, and how the “own the disc” requirement is enforced over time.

If you bought any of the over 500 movies from StudioCanal on PlayStation, you will soon lose access to them without compensation.

If the disc is loaned to a friend or sold, you will then lose your digital rights. The claim is that the system only works with Xbox One and Xbox Series X discs, and that some Xbox One discs may not work depending on when the disc was manufactured.