Xbox Smart Delivery will cover physical & digital copies of supported games

Published , by TJ Denzer

With the announcement of Xbox Smart Delivery, transition over to the new generation of console is looking easier than ever on the Xbox end. Smart Delivery is meant to ensure that no matter what version of a game you buy, supported games will upgrade to the best version of the console you have. The only thing that might have soured this was if it was confined to digital copies of games, but according to Microsoft, both physical and digital games supported by Smart Delivery will be covered.

Microsoft launched a bevy of details about the Xbox Series X, including the announcement of Smart Delivery, on February 24, 2020. There was a lot of great looking specs and details in the latest reveal, but Smart Delivery was easily a standout. The program ensures that if you buy an Xbox One game that later launches on Xbox Series, it will upgrade to an Xbox Series X version of the game if it’s covered by Smart Delivery. However, one question remained: does that cover physical and digital copies? Fortunately, the answer seems to be yes.

The coverage of both physical and digital copies on Xbox Smart Delivery supported games means you won't have to worry if you get a Cyberpunk 2077 disc on Xbox One and want to upgrade it to an Xbox Series X version of the game if you make the transition later.

Shacknews reached out to Microsoft regarding this question and a spokesperson for the company clarified that both physical and digital editions of games with Smart Delivery would be covered, as long as the publisher opts into using the technology.

“Physical discs of Xbox games can support Smart Delivery if the developer or publisher decides to implement the technology,” A Microsoft spokesperson told us. “We look forward to sharing more details on Smart Delivery in the future.”

This is further great news on the apparent versatility of the program following the fact that CD Projekt RED already confirmed Cyberpunk 2077 will feature Xbox Smart Delivery support. It means that regardless of whether you have a physical disc or a digital edition of a game downloaded onto your system, as long as it is supported by Xbox Smart Delivery, it will be able to upgrade to the best version of the game if you transition to a new Xbox console.

Want to know more about Xbox Smart Delivery? Be sure to check out our guide on what Xbox Smart Delivery is and how it works.