Xbox outage shouldn’t have affected games on disc, Microsoft confirms
Microsoft has confirmed that a recent Xbox service outage incorrectly prevented users from playing physical disc-based games. The company stated this was a technical error and is working on a fix to ensure offline disc access remains functional during future service interruptions.
Why it matters
It highlights growing consumer concerns regarding digital rights management and the preservation of physical media in an increasingly online-only gaming ecosystem.
After the recent Xbox outage even blocked people from playing offline disc-based console games, Microsoft is trying to soothe concerns that you don’t truly own anything under Xbox’s license system. In a statement to The Verge, Xbox technology chief Scott Van Vliet says that while physical game discs are subject to licensing inspections, that shouldn’t have prevented them from working during this week’s outage, or while consoles are offline.
“We’re looking into reports that some players were unable to access games using discs as expected during the service interruption. Disc-based entitlement checks should not prevent players from accessing their games and this is by design,” said Van Vliet.
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