Xbox’s PC push continues this week, with new reporting indicating concrete plans for its long‑rumoured disc‑to‑digital system, alongside official steps toward expanding backwards compatibility to include Xbox 360 titles on PC.

According to a new report from The Verge, Microsoft is preparing to roll out its disc‑to‑digital conversion feature for Xbox Series X owners within weeks. The system will allow players to insert a supported physical disc and receive a digital licence tied to their account. Crucially, Play Anywhere titles will also benefit, so if you own a physical Xbox game that supports Play Anywhere, converting it to a digital licence will grant access on both Xbox and PC.

Previous evidence suggested Xbox 360 support would come to PC, but now the news appears to be official. According to the same Verge report, Microsoft has begun working with publishers to bring Xbox 360 backwards compatibility to PC, offering an opt‑in system that requires no engineering work from developers. Publishers simply need to approve their titles, after which they can be made available to PC players through Microsoft’s emulator‑based compatibility layer.

Backwards compatible games also available digitally may also end up included in the disc-to-digital conversion program.

KitGuru Says: What Xbox 360 games would you like to see running on PC? 

Microsoft is reportedly testing an Xbox disc-to-digital feature that will allow players to convert their physical game discs into digital downloads. Following a preliminary rumour back in May, a new report details how the programme is expected to operate ahead of an anticipated reveal later this year.

The original rumour from Windows Central mentioned that Xbox was working on such a feature but didn't provide many details. The new report from The Verge adds some information, stating that disc-to-digital will exclusively support Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S game discs. Original Xbox and Xbox 360 physical titles won't be supported. Players will insert a compatible disc into their console to generate a digital entitlement that remains locked to that specific physical copy.

Once a game is digitised, users gain full access to associated ecosystem perks like Xbox Play Anywhere or Xbox Cloud Gaming support, provided the game's digital version offers them. Testing feedback notes that compatibility for some Xbox One discs may vary depending on when and how they're manufactured.

So what happens to the disc once you've ‘digitized' your game? Well, the disc remains functional, but the digital game license is tied to the disc. That means that if you sell the physical copy, the digital entitlement will transfer along with it.

KitGuru says: If Microsoft drops the physical disc drive for its upcoming console, a functional disc-to-digital conversion path will be vital for preserving player collections.