The company’s chief technology officer announced that a solution to the issue will be implemented shortly.
Earlier this week, Xbox faced an unusual outage. For nearly an entire day, users were unable to access the platform’s online services, and some players also found that their physical disc games were unplayable. Scott Van Vliet, the company’s chief technology officer, indicated that the issue stemmed from problems with an external licensing service. If you feel that disc games should still be available regardless of online service outages, you are correct.
In a statement to a media outlet, Van Vliet clarified that the licensing issues should not have affected disc access. “We’re investigating reports of players being unable to use their disc games during the service downtime. Disc-based entitlement checks should not stop players from enjoying their games, and this is part of the intended design,” he stated. He elaborated that disc entitlements should be stored locally, allowing games to function even without an internet connection. However, the system responsible for this did not operate as intended. A remedy is set to be included in an upcoming software update.
This incident adds to a series of challenges for Xbox, which has been facing scrutiny amid a rough year. Following a difficult 2025, the company has seen shifts in leadership, price increases, and announced a reduction of 3,200 positions.
