Xbox’s new disc-to-digital program gives physical games a digital future

Xbox 全新“光盘转数字”计划：让实体游戏拥有数字未来

For decades, console owners have faced a choice between the convenience of digital downloads and the permanence of physical game discs. Soon, Xbox owners will be able to get the best of both worlds for thousands of supported titles as part of a newly announced disc-to-digital program.

几十年来，主机玩家一直面临着数字下载的便利性与实体光盘的永久性之间的抉择。随着 Xbox 新宣布的“光盘转数字”（disc-to-digital）计划，Xbox 用户很快就能在数千款支持的游戏中兼得两者之长。

The program—announced today ahead of testing for Xbox Insiders starting August 31—will let players claim a “digital entitlement” for “most Xbox One and Xbox Series X disc-based games” simply by inserting the disc into a console and launching it. That game will then be playable completely digitally, without the need to ever insert the disc, as long as you (or a member of your family account) is logged in.

该计划于今日公布，并将于 8 月 31 日起面向 Xbox Insider 会员开启测试。玩家只需将光盘插入主机并运行，即可为“大多数 Xbox One 和 Xbox Series X 实体光盘游戏”申领“数字授权”。此后，只要你（或你的家庭账户成员）处于登录状态，该游戏便可完全以数字形式运行，无需再次插入光盘。

The digital entitlement will also allow access to features like Xbox Play Anywhere (for play on PC) and Xbox Cloud Gaming, for supported titles. Microsoft says that your physical disc will “continue to work exactly as it always has” after the digital entitlement is claimed. But before you get any ideas, the fine print on the announcement mentions that there is only “one revokable license per game disc,” so if you resell that disc or loan it to a friend, that digital entitlement could be transferred to a new account when someone else puts it into their console.

对于支持的游戏，该数字授权还将允许玩家使用 Xbox Play Anywhere（在 PC 上游玩）和 Xbox 云游戏等功能。微软表示，在申领数字授权后，你的实体光盘将“继续像往常一样正常工作”。但别想钻空子，公告的细则中提到，每张游戏光盘仅对应“一个可撤销的许可证”。因此，如果你转售或将光盘借给朋友，当他人将光盘插入主机时，该数字授权可能会被转移到新账户中。

A leaked memo obtained by the Verge earlier this month suggests that publishers have to actively opt in to allow their game discs to activate digital entitlements, which could explain why “most” but not all Xbox One and Series X titles are supported. Windows Central separately suggests, based on discussion with unnamed sources, that “some discs may be incompatible due to how they were manufactured at the time,” which could explain why original Xbox and Xbox 360 discs are not being discussed for the program.

本月早些时候 The Verge 获得的一份泄露备忘录显示，发行商必须主动选择加入，才能允许其游戏光盘激活数字授权，这或许解释了为什么只有“大多数”而非全部 Xbox One 和 Series X 游戏支持该功能。Windows Central 根据匿名消息来源指出，“由于当时的制造工艺原因，部分光盘可能不兼容”，这或许就是初代 Xbox 和 Xbox 360 光盘未被纳入该计划的原因。

“While not every title will be available at launch, this is an important step toward a future where players can have greater confidence that the games they buy remain with them for years to come,” Xbox Vice President Jason Ronald writes in today’s announcement.

Xbox 副总裁 Jason Ronald 在今天的公告中写道：“虽然并非所有游戏都能在发布时支持，但这迈出了重要的一步，未来玩家将更有信心确保他们购买的游戏能够长久陪伴在身边。”

Future-proof? The ability to convert disc-based Xbox games to digital copies could be especially important, as rumors suggest Microsoft’s upcoming Project Helix console won’t be available with a disc drive. That means claiming a digital entitlement could be the only way to achieve backward compatibility for hundreds of millions of Xbox game discs going forward.

面向未来？将实体 Xbox 游戏转换为数字版的能力可能尤为重要，因为有传言称微软即将推出的 Project Helix 主机将不再配备光盘驱动器。这意味着，对于未来数以亿计的 Xbox 游戏光盘而言，申领数字授权可能是实现向下兼容的唯一途径。

It’s unclear whether Sony would be willing or technically able to replicate this kind of disc-to-digital option for PlayStation titles. Microsoft’s announcement comes just months after Sony announced it would stop producing physical discs entirely in 2028, though rumors from last year suggest an optional, detachable disc drive might be available for PlayStation 6 owners interested in backward compatibility for their physical titles.

目前尚不清楚索尼是否愿意或有技术能力为 PlayStation 游戏提供类似的“光盘转数字”选项。微软发布此公告前几个月，索尼刚刚宣布将于 2028 年彻底停止生产实体光盘。不过，去年的传言称，对于有实体游戏向下兼容需求的 PlayStation 6 用户，索尼可能会提供可选的可拆卸光盘驱动器。

Today’s merging of physical and digital Xbox titles could be seen as the final realization of Microsoft’s botched rollout of a somewhat similar plan for Xbox One discs before that console launched in 2013. That announced plan was hamstrung by confusing messaging about licensing restrictions on used games and the apparent need for frequent online checks to confirm licenses for discs. Within weeks, Microsoft reversed those plans amid widespread blowback from fans.

今天 Xbox 实体与数字游戏的融合，可以被视为微软在 2013 年 Xbox One 发布前夕，因执行不当而流产的类似计划的最终实现。当时那个计划因关于二手游戏许可限制的混乱信息，以及对光盘进行频繁在线验证的需求而受阻。在遭到粉丝的强烈抵制后，微软在几周内就撤回了这些计划。