Microsoft has acknowledged that some Xbox users were unable to play physical disc-based games during a recent service outage, saying the issue was not expected to occur and promising a software update to prevent it from happening again.
The nearly day-long outage disrupted login services, the Xbox Store, apps, and access to both digital and physical games, raising concerns among gamers about whether they truly own games purchased on disc.
Xbox technology chief Scott Van Vliet said physical game discs are subject to digital entitlement checks, but those checks are designed not to block offline gameplay.
"Disc-based entitlement checks should not prevent players from accessing their games and this is by design," Van Vliet said.
Issue linked to saved entitlements
According to Microsoft, the outage exposed a problem that prevented some Xbox consoles from correctly using saved digital entitlements while offline.
Van Vliet said Xbox has identified the issue and will release an update to ensure offline games continue working even if online licensing services become unavailable.
Entitlements are digital licenses that verify a player's ownership of games and downloadable content. Although Xbox discs contain encrypted licensing data, Microsoft says titles with full disc support should remain playable without an internet connection.
Physical ownership concerns resurface
The outage has renewed debate over digital rights and the future of physical game ownership.
Many players questioned why games installed from physical discs could become inaccessible because of an online service disruption, despite owning the discs.
The concerns come as Microsoft tests a disc-to-digital feature that would allow users to create digital versions of games they already own physically.
Meanwhile, Sony has also been moving further toward digital distribution, with reports indicating the company plans to phase out physical PlayStation game disc production in the coming years.
Microsoft said the upcoming software update will strengthen offline access and ensure physical game owners are not affected by similar outages in the future.
