Shortly after Sony announced its controversial decision to stop manufacturing PlayStation discs starting in January 2028, Windows Central's Jez Corden reported that Microsoft is leaning toward the same choice for the next 'Project Helix' Xbox console.
However, in the latest episode of the DF Direct Q+A podcast , Digital Foundry's John Linneman shared a rumor that Xbox, at least before the big Xbox reset enacted by new CEO Asha Sharma , was possibly planning to continue supporting discs with its next-generation console for backward compatibility reasons.
What's interesting, Rich, one thing I'd heard from a couple sort of sources, and this is just kind of like, you know, 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 like ensure that all your Xbox games were still playable on new Xboxes.
And it's like, oh, we could offer maybe like an external drive or basically some means. And I think that might all tie into this disc-to-digital stuff as well. But I get this feeling that they actually, especially given the reaction, I'm not saying they're going to solve problems or anything drastically going to change. But I do see a future where Microsoft actually supports discs going forward for users who want to take their library with them, while Sony just completely cuts people off.
It would indeed be a quick and easy way to score some much-needed points with all those hardcore gamers who are currently very peeved with Sony's PlayStation.
However, the more sensible business decision from a pure financial standpoint is likely to abandon discs altogether, as Sony intends to do even after all the backlash . Sharma has a clear mandate from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella , after all: the Xbox division must return to growth in the next fiscal year .
About the author : With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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