Xbox Outage Reveals Offline Mode Depends on Cached Entitlements, Not Local Disc Validation

A near-16-hour Xbox outage beginning July 26, 2026 blocked disc-based game playback after an external licensing service failed. CTO Scott Van Vliet confirmed consoles could not correctly use saved entitlements, and that "offline mode is also designed to rely on those saved entitlements." Microsoft's own documentation states disc-supported games "should be available for offline use."