A big announcement from Xbox is coming next week! It's expected to concern physical discs and (possibly) something else.

The gaming industry has been ablaze in recent weeks, and the fuse is called the end of physical discs. While Sony remains silent and collects insults, Xbox is preparing a big announcement. And if insider Jez Corden is right, it will be precisely about this painful issue — just wrapped in a much more appealing guise.

Positron: from disc straight to library

Already in May, Corden reported that Microsoft was working on a disc-to-digital feature codenamed Positron. This would allow owners of physical Xbox games to convert them into a digital license. The company has not said anything about it yet, but now Brad Rosetti, who leads the Xbox Insider Program, wrote on X that a big announcement is coming next week. He didn’t specify anything, but Corden is quite sure it will be about Positron — and the fact that the head of the tester program announced it suggests that the new feature will first be available to Xbox Insiders and only then to the public.

Kindness, or an elegant burial?

At first glance, it sounds like a welcoming step: you won’t lose the games you’ve bought, and your library will remain even without a disc drive. But when I think about it a second time, Positron is primarily a smooth path to a disc-less future. You exchange a disc for a license that the provider can take away from you again one day — and you won’t get it back.

The context, however, speaks clearly. Sony’s decision to discontinue physical games sparked the “Don’t Kill the Disc” petition, which has over 250,000 signatures, and a wave of PS Plus cancellations, which the Japanese company is trying to extinguish with fifty-percent discounts. In this situation, Xbox has a chance to look like the good guy — but the goal of both brands remains the same.

What about Project Helix?

The question of the next console remains open. Following Sony’s move, players assume that neither PS6 nor the new Xbox will have a disc drive. According to the latest information, however, Microsoft has not yet decided on Project Helix — and support for physical discs is reportedly still in play, whether directly in the console or in the form of external accessories. So, whether next week will bring only Positron, or also a word about the disc drive, we will find out soon.

Would you trade your discs for digital licenses if Xbox offered it?

Source: Brad Rosetti (X), Jez Corden (X), Notebookcheck