According to data from Windows Central, the next generation of Microsoft consoles under the code name Project Helix will come without a disk drive. No official comments from the company have been received yet, but details about the new console are expected to be revealed later this year. This comes on the back of Sony’s announcement that it will cease production and support of physical discs for PlayStation entirely as of January 2028.

The Verge reports that Microsoft is exploring the possibility of implementing "disk-to-number": a user inserts a physical disc into an existing console and receives a digital license for the game, after which the media is no longer required for launch. However, if you transfer the disk to another person, the digital license will also be transferred with them, so keeping the digital version and giving the disk at the same time won’t work.

Support for the feature will extend only to games for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, while the taitos for the original Xbox and Xbox 360 won’t be included in this scheme. According to The Verge, the new feature can help users gradually digitize their game library before possibly switching to Project Helix.