Xbox outage disrupts disc-based games and store access amid ongoing service issues

An extended outage affecting Xbox services began on Sunday evening, preventing users from logging in, launching applications, and accessing the Xbox store. The disruption extended beyond digital titles, blocking access to disc-based games and Game Pass subscriptions due to backend license verification failures. By Monday afternoon, the company reported that disc-based games were functional again, although issues with digital and backward-compatible games persisted.

Xbox’s status page initially indicated that users “may have problems” with both digital and disc games, a claim confirmed by social media reports. During the disruption, error code 0x87e107df was reported by users attempting to launch Game Pass titles, indicating a license verification failure. While one reporter noted that owned digital games could still be launched, access to subscription-based content remained restricted. The status page later updated to suggest that disc-based games should now work, though it continued to flag potential issues with digital content.

In a post on X at 2:03PM ET, Xbox stated that its teams were focused on multiple investigation angles and remained hard at work. A subsequent update at 2:41PM ET noted that services were slowly improving. The company apologised for the long-running nature of the issue, which has left many users unable to access their libraries or the store interface. The company did not immediately reply to requests for further comment regarding the root cause.

The incident highlights the potential downside of tying authentication requirements to physical media copies. Xbox is currently testing a feature that would grant users a digital copy of games they own on disc, but this outage demonstrates the reliance on online verification even for physical products. The disruption occurred against a backdrop of recent major layoffs at the Xbox division, which were announced earlier in the month.

The exact root cause of the outage has not been explicitly detailed by Microsoft, with the company citing ongoing investigations. The full extent of the impact remains unclear, as reports are based on limited anecdotal evidence and specific user experiences. The timeline for the complete resolution of digital game issues is not specified beyond the Monday afternoon update.