While Microsoft is publishing more games than ever before, fewer and fewer of them are getting physical editions on its home turf. Microsoft-owned Oblivion’s The Outer Worlds 2 will get a standard disc option on PlayStation 5 but only a code in a box for Xbox Series X owners. It’s the latest example of a growing preservation nightmare for Microsoft’s current generation of consoles.
The company’s big summer showcase made that clear last week, as game after game that was shown was later revealed to not be getting a physical version on Xbox. Koei Tecmo’s Ninja Gaiden 4, published by Microsoft, will also be just a code in the box there. So will Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4. Gears of War: Reloaded doesn’t even have a box of any kind listed for Microsoft’s platform, despite a physical version coming to PS5. The Spanish gaming news site Vandal reports the PlayStation version will be completely playable from the disc.
Fans started to become concerned about the shift back from physical media in 2023 when a leak from the FTC Activision trial suggested Microsoft had explored plans for a mid-generation console refresh that would be digital-only. Then, in the first half of 2024, Microsoft’s big first-party exclusive Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II didn’t get a physical release. Pictures shared online showed the Xbox sections at big retailers were shrinking, with most boxed products being replaced by digital codes. There were rumors that retail teams at Microsoft were cut in recent downsizing. Hellblade 2 is now coming to PS5, but a physical edition will only exist because of Limited Run Games.
“We are supportive of physical media, but we don’t have a need to drive that disproportionate to customer demand,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer told Game File in February of 2024. “We ship games physically and digitally, and we’re really just following what the customers are doing. And I think our job in running Xbox is to deliver on the things that a majority of the customers want. And right now, a majority of our customers are buying games digitally.”
Dyed-in-the-wool fans took heart in at least one part of the executive’s answer: “But I will say our strategy does not hinge on people moving all-digital,” he added. “And getting rid of physical, that’s not a strategic thing for us.” Is that still the case? It certainly doesn’t feel like it. Microsoft didn’t respond when Kotaku reached out for comment about the recent flurry of codes in boxes for Xbox first-party games.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle now stands as an exception that increasingly proves the rule. While it has a disc version for both platforms, Obsidian Entertainment’s Avowed didn’t get a boxed version at all. Doom: The Dark Ages, meanwhile, offered discs, but less than 1GB of the entire game was stored on it, making it useless without a download. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will be in a similar boat. If it’s anything like other entries in the franchise, the disc will essentially only be a DRM key to unlock the digital version.
It aligns quite nicely with Microsoft’s all-digital, subscription-based, PC-centric, play-anywhere future. If you’re on Xbox, why pay $80 for an Outer Worlds 2 code when you can just access it for $20 a month with Game Pass Ultimate? Who needs a physical version of Ninja Gaiden 4 when the console code will get you access to the PC version as well? It’s great for someone on a PC gaming handheld like the forthcoming ROG Xbox Ally that doesn’t have a disc drive, but a shame for physical fans and preservation advocates. How much more would it cost to simply do both?
In some ways, it’s the opposite of what’s going on with the Switch 2. While Nintendo is releasing its games on cartridges, many third-party publishers are resorting to controversial game key cards to save money. In Microsoft’s case, it’s doing that to its own games for its own fans on its own platform.
2026 is shaping up to be a massive year for Xbox nostalgia with the 25th anniversary seeing the planned release of a new Fable, Forza, Gears of War: E-Day, and rumored Halo: Combat Evolved remaster. Will any of them get physical releases? Unless something changes, probably not. At least not until they come to PS5.
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