Xbox may be working on way to let Series S owners play disc-based games

With more and more people opting to play games digitally, companies like Microsoft and Sony have offered lower-priced disc-less consoles, such as the Xbox Series S and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition.

Now, however, Microsoft may be working on a way to allow those who own its digital-only Series S console to play their disc-based games.

As first spotted by Game Rant, Microsoft has filed a patent, titled “Software Ownership Validation of Optical Drives Using Secondary Device,” that outlines such an option for gamers. Specifically, the patent proposes a system that allows an external disc drive to authenticate an Xbox game disc, which would then allow the player to access the digital version of that title via the Series S’ online store at no additional cost. Naturally, this would be a more consumer-friendly option instead of having to re-purchase games you already own.