From Disc to Digital: Xbox Officially Unveils Disc-to-Digital Program

Positron testing starts on Monday, but only for Xbox Insider participants for now.

Microsoft is launching the Positron program, which will allow owners of physical game versions to receive a digital copy at no additional cost. Testing among Xbox Insider participants begins this Monday.

It all works quite simply: just insert a disc with a compatible game into an Xbox One or Xbox Series X, after which the system will offer to activate the digital version of the game. The disc itself will retain the license and can be transferred to another owner, but then the digital copy will be linked to their Microsoft account.

After activating the digital version, the disc will no longer be required to launch the game. The user will receive all the benefits of a digital copy, including Xbox Play Anywhere support, the ability to play on PC and portable Xbox Ally devices, and use Xbox Cloud Gaming. With family sharing enabled, the game will also be available to other members of the family group.

At launch, Positron will support "thousands" of games. Microsoft plans to gradually expand the list of compatible discs, but some of them may turn out to be incompatible due to manufacturing features or protection used at the time of their release.