While Sony has made its plans when it comes to the future of physical PlayStation discs quite clear, Microsoft has remained silent about whether it would follow the former’s steps and end Xbox disc production as well. Digital Foundry’s John Linneman, however, has said in a recent Q&A that the company may have planned to continue to support physical discs even after the release of Project Helix, at least before its most recent “reset”.
“One thing I’ve heard from a couple of sources, and this is just kind of like potential rumory stuff, but at least before the current Xbox reset – I don’t know where it is now – it sounds like Microsoft was actually very much going to continue disc support. Not because they valued retail disc sales, but because they wanted to ensure that all your Xbox games were still playable on new Xboxes.”
As for whether this means that Project Helix would include a disc drive or not is unknown. However, Linneman noted the potential for Microsoft to sell separate disc drives as one possible outcome. “I think that that might all tie into this distidigital stuff as well, but I get this feeling that they actually, especially given their reaction, I’m not saying they’re going to solve problems or anything is drastically going to change, but I do see a future where Microsoft actually supports discs going forward for users that want to take their library with them, while Sony just completely cuts people off.”
It is worth noting that one of Microsoft’s biggest pushes in the last few years, going as far back as early in Xbox One’s life cycle, was for backwards compatibility of games. The company has worked hard to ensure that its current console hardware could support a wide range of Xbox and Xbox 360 games, and has even gone as far as to make many of these older titles available through its subscription services. If the company wants to continue supporting the feature even with Project Helix, it will need a way for users to insert their Xbox and Xbox 360 discs into the console.
However, Microsoft continuing to support discs would also run counter to how the company has been releasing its more recent games, with many of its first-party releases not even being available in physical form. One notable example of this is Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, which was only available digitally. It’s also quite common to see games that do get physical releases end up needing an Internet connection to download much of their data from Xbox’s servers as well.
While the company’s seeming decision to continue disc support is quite noteworthy, it is likelier to be an effort to keep supporting backwards compatibility. Microsoft is also likely banking on some positive PR, especially in light of Sony’s general silence about its own decision. It is worth noting that even Sony’s CFO, Lin Tao, has said that the backlash did little to deter it from its plans.
For more on Sony’s decision, check out why its response to public outcry has been concerning to us.
