What optical-disc format does the Xbox Series X use for physical games?

The Xbox Series X uses Ultra HD Blu-ray discs for physical games.

Microsoft equipped the Series X with a 4K UHD Blu-ray optical drive. This allows the console to read physical game discs and play Ultra HD Blu-ray films, while also supporting ordinary Blu-ray and DVD media. The drive is one of the clearest hardware differences between the Series X and the all-digital Xbox Series S.

The Xbox Series X does not use the HD DVD format that Microsoft promoted as an external accessory during the Xbox 360 era. HD DVD lost the high-definition disc-format competition to Blu-ray and was discontinued in 2008. That history makes the formats easy to confuse.

Physical games still require installation to the console’s internal SSD, because modern Xbox titles are too large to run directly from the optical disc. The disc generally serves as the ownership license and installation source.