Square Enix and Ubisoft Left Out of Xbox’s Program to Convert Games from Disc to Digital

Xbox‘s new disc-to-digital program, currently being tested by Insiders, does not seem to include games published by Ubisoft and Square Enix for now.

The report comes from Xbox users, who say that when inserting a disc from either of the two companies, they are not given the option to link it to a digital license. Instead of the option to make the conversion, the system shows the message “Digital license unavailable,” explaining that “this game is not participating in digital licensing.”

Neither Ubisoft nor Square Enix has so far made an official statement about its participation in the program. However, it is possible that the absence of their games is only linked to the testing phase. Microsoft could expand the list of supported titles when the service becomes available to the public.

Ubisoft and Square Enix Games Are Missing From Xbox’s New Disc-to-Digital Test

The program was introduced by Microsoft in the Alpha Skip-Ahead, Alpha, and Beta channels of the Xbox Insider program. One of the conditions also concerns keeping possession of the physical copy used to obtain the digital license.

Microsoft explained this in its FAQ: “A disc-to-digital license is associated with the qualifying game disc. To maintain access to certain disc-to-digital licensing benefits, you may be required to demonstrate continued possession of the qualifying disc. For example, if you lose, sell, give away, or otherwise no longer possess a qualifying disc, access to associated disc-to-digital licenses may be limited or revoked.”

One interesting point is that the disc continues to work normally after the conversion. This means that once the digital license has been obtained, the physical copy could potentially be lent to another person, while the owner continues to use the game through their digital license.

The community is also trying to keep track of titles compatible with the program through independent projects. Among them is a dedicated page on the Xbox Collection Tracker website, which lists the games currently supported.

For now, the system also has some limitations. Xbox and Xbox 360 games are not compatible with the program, at least in its current phase. Considering the importance Microsoft has placed on backward compatibility in recent Xbox generations, however, it is possible that support could be expanded in the future.

For the moment, then, Xbox’s disc-to-digital program remains an experimental project, and the list of compatible games could still change before the final launch. The absence of Ubisoft and Square Enix is one of the first signs of how publishers are choosing to participate in the new system.