Windows Central has reportedly obtained new information about Microsoft’s disc-less Xbox One. The biggest bit is that it looks like the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition will be coming out on May 7, 2019. They also received information pertaining to the pricing and what games will be bundled with it. It should be noted that as of now, all this is a rumor and no official announcement has been made yet.
Although exact pricing is unknown, information indicates the this Xbox will have the lowest recommended retail price of all current Xbox One consoles. Microsoft intends to make the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition part of the Xbox One family instead of replacing the versions that can use discs. Because of this, it appears that Microsoft will not be going all digital for the foreseeable future. We’ll have to wait and see what Microsoft reveals during E3.
The Xbox One S All Digital looks to be virtually identical to the Xbox One S, minus the disc drive and eject button. According to product shots, this edition will come with a 1TB HDD and digital codes for Forza Horizon 3, Sea of Thieves, and Minecraft. While some editions bundle in Xbox Live or Xbox Game Pass. it looks like this will come with neither.
The All-Digital disc-less Xbox began being reported late last year. One of the major reasons was to possibly create a cheaper barrier of entry for the Xbox brand. It also suits the Xbox Game Pass as well.
This isn’t the only thing Microsoft is working on. They announced Project xCloud, streaming service that will make Xbox games available across multiple devices. They may have already started that process by announcing that Xbox Live and the Xbox Game Pass will be coming to the Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android. And, it seems that they may have some competition in the streaming space with the recent reveal of Google’s game streaming service Stadia, coming this year.
Microsoft has a lot of things going on and we’ll have to wait and see how everything plays out.