According to a report from Windows Central, Microsoft’s Xbox Maverick, the codename for their disc-less Xbox One S, will be launching this May, with pre-orders going live next month. The new version of the console will be called the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, and yes, we’ve already seen people making the “Xbone SAD” jokes.
Microsoft appear to be aiming for a global simultaneous launch in pretty much all current Xbox One markets, but no exact dates have been confirmed. Either way, this will be a first for the brand, ditching discs in favour of purely digital downloads, which isn’t so bad when you’ve got services like Xbox Game Pass, EA Access and Games With Gold to ensure that your library is filled with great games, and maybe a few rubbish ones as well.
With the Project xCloud streaming service in the pipeline that’ll introduce dedicated support for game streaming, it seems like Microsoft are going all in on a digital future. Hopefully, the lack of a disc drive reflects in the price i.e. quite cheap. No one wants to be paying more to then be gouged by the admittedly extortionate digital prices on the Xbox Store.
As always, these reports should be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism, but considering the increase in digital purchasing in recent years, the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition seems like a no-brainer. We’ll just have to see how it affects the console landscape going forward.
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