What if it was soon possible to play its physical games on Xbox Series S? Microsoft is obviously looking into the matter. A patent shows us how the manufacturer intends to go about it.
While the issue of DRM has been making noise again lately due to the major breakdown of Xbox Live services which deprived many players of their solo games, Microsoft seems to want to move towards an entirely dematerialized model in the future (you remember the original Xbox One promise?). The Redmond firm has indeed filed a new patent aimed at helping backward compatibility, but not only.
Playing physical games on Xbox Series S?
Microsoft could be a game-changer for its disc-less consoles. The Xbox Series S quickly found its audience thanks to its softer price. An attractive price explained by the absence of Blu-Ray player which can put off more than one. The American manufacturer nevertheless seems to be looking for a solution to satisfy everyone. Gamerant has indeed spotted a patent filed recently by Microsoft, to say the least interesting.
The Redmond company is indeed working on an external player capable of reading physical games and then downloading them to its Xbox and playing them. The perfect accessory for the Xbox Series S that would also give pride of place to backward compatibility. It could, for example, allow owners of the fully dematerialized console to enjoy all their Xbox One games purchased physically.
Towards a 100% dematerialized future?
The patent does not however give any indication as to the possibility of being able to exchange its physical Xbox game for a dematerialized copy on Xbox Series X for example. There are also no details as to how it actually works. Would it allow to keep the scanned copy for life or will it be limited in a certain period of time? It is difficult to imagine Microsoft opting for the first option, since it would simply be enough to be lent a game to keep it.
If this patent really comes to give life to a new accessory, it could be a new step towards 100% dematerialized. With such a mechanism, Microsoft could offer models without a disk drive in the future while offering an alternative so as not to lose its collection. Remember that the manufacturer is sparing no effort on Cloud Gaming, to the point that the Xbox Game Pass will soon be integrated into TVs.