Xbox tech boss says ‘unacceptable’ outage shouldn’t have affected disc games

The issue follows a separate event on the PlayStation Network on July 24 It also experienced several hours of outages..

Both events have created uncertainty about the so-called digital-only future of games and questions about game ownership and licensing.

In June Rockstar Games has been announced Physical copies of GTA 6, one of the most anticipated games in history, will contain a digital download code for the game instead of a disc.

Nintendo has shifted more toward digital distribution in recent years with the introduction of game-key cards — physical cartridges that act as a key to download a game rather than holding the game itself.

Meanwhile, at the beginning of this month Sony has announced plans, External Not to release new PlayStation games on discs from January 2028.

New games can still be purchased in stores, but will reportedly come with a digital code.

Both announcements prompted a backlash from people worried about a future without physical games.

Stop Killing Games is a consumer rights movement demanding that publishers kill online games if they kill their servers.

Following Rockstar’s announcement, Scott Ross, founder of consumer rights group Stop Games, said: “The problem is that the industry has a very poor reputation for disabling games.”

For many large publishers, the trust from customers just isn’t there.

“I don’t think the lack of disks is a problem in itself, but rather a symptom of a larger, more consumer-obnoxious task.”

Jez Corden, editor-in-chief of the Windows Central website, said Sony’s decision to stop selling physical games “puts digital rights under the microscope.”

And a statement on Xbox’s discontinuation suggests the company is “currently active in discussions regarding digital rights and disc-based games.”

Digital sales make up the majority of gaming revenue – but the recent outage has led some to hope that companies may be rethinking their strategy.