Xbox started rolling out its disc-to-digital program earlier this summer. The trouble is, it didn’t tell users which games are compatible with the new feature. That’s why Xbox owners took it upon themselves to figure it out, quickly discovering some of the world’s biggest studios hadn’t opted in.
Sega Games Are Slowly Joining Xbox Disc-To-Digital
Sega was one of the biggest studios with games that didn’t provide their owners with a digital copy when inserting the physical version into a compatible device. It seems that, much like Ubisoft, it was more a case of Sega needing to get its ducks in a row before hopping on the disc-to-digital bandwagon rather than it not wanting to be a part of the popular new Xbox initiative.
XCT.live is a site that relies on information submitted by those testing their Xbox games to create a database of every single Xbox One and Series X|S title to be released physically. So far, 1,859 games have been tested to see if they work with Xbox’s disc-to-digital, and for the first time, Sega games are among the 1,565 that now are.
Not every Sega game is disc-to-digital compatible, at least not yet. Search for Sonic, and you’ll find Sonic Colors Ultimate, Sonic Forces, and Sonic Frontiers are now a part of the program. That means if you own physical versions of those Xbox games, you can insert their discs and redeem digital copies.
A Lot Of Sega Games Are Still Missing
Some other Sonic games are still missing, though. Sonic Mania, Sonic x Shadow Generations, and Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds still don’t offer up digital copies to those who own their physical versions. The Yakuza series is in a similar situation, with some titles now compatible while others are not. It’s a clean sweep for Persona fans, however, as every game in the Sega series to have been released physically on the last two Xbox consoles is now part of the disc-to-digital program.
Four major studios were identified as the ones with games incompatible with disc-to-digital across the board shortly after the feature launched: Ubisoft, Sega, Bandai Namco, and Square Enix. Ubisoft appears to have now added all of its games to the disc-to-digital database, and hopefully today’s Sega news is a sign that the Sonic studio is in the process of doing the same.
It’s continued radio silence when it comes to Square and Bandai. For Square, that means no obtaining digital licenses for your physical copies of any Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts games on Xbox. No Bandai means no Elden Ring, no Dragon Ball games, and presumably also means no Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve when the critically acclaimed game launches later this week.
Source: TheGamer