Microsoft patent application may allow disc owners to access digital games
James Batchelor
Editor-in-Chief
Monday 16th May 2022
Microsoft
Xbox
A patent application by Microsoft has surfaced that hints the platform holder is seeking a way for Xbox owners to access digital games if they can prove they own a physical copy.
The application, spotted by GameRant, appears to have been filed in November 2020 -- incidentally the same month Microsoft launch the Xbox Series X|S -- and discusses "software ownership validation of optical discs using [a] secondary device."
In short, the idea seems to be that if a user places a game disc in one device (examples including an external disc drive or an older Xbox console), this would validate the user's access to its content and enable it to be played on a second device (for example, a digital-only Xbox Series S).
Microsoft's suggestions on how this could work include the two devices being linked to the same network or if they are linked by the same user account. Once validated, the second device could either be download (presumably from the Xbox Store) the game or stream it from the first device.
There does not appear to be any indication whether users would still have access to the digital version if they then sell the disc.
When explaining the rationale for such a system, Microsoft described a situation where the owner of a previous generation games console buys a next gen device without an optical disc drive (the company gave no names, but an Xbox One owner buying a Series S is the obvious example), they are unable to play any physical games they own and must repurchase the digital version.
Microsoft deemed this scenario "undesirable for multiple reasons," noting that games represent "a significant financial investment" for people and "it may be difficult for some
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