As the next generation of consoles draw ever nearer, so too do the drums of rumour and speculation begin to bang once more. It’s never easy to separate fact from fiction in these instances, but this new Xbox rumour certainly holds some weight.
One of the leading Xbox rumours of the last few months is that Microsoft is looking at a disc free future for its consoles. Not too long ago, a rumour emerged that Microsoft is planning a cheaper, disc free Xbox One S for a 2019 release.
Now it seems the new console has a name and even potential release window – let’s discuss.
Microsoft According to a report from Windows Central, this new system will be called the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition – a name that just rolls off the tongue, I’m sure you’ll agree.
The report goes in to claim that pre-orders for the console will begin in April, with a global launch set for May. Given that’s only a few months away, one imagines Microsoft will have an official announcement for us soon.
The choice was apparently driven by Microsoft’s desire to move towards a digital-only future, but there were also economic factors at play. As I’m sure you’d expect, a disc-less Xbox One would be cheaper to make, and could end up being the cheapest Xbox model yet.
Thurrot previously reported that it could go for around £155 or less, but it’s important to note that pricing has yet to be confirmed and this is merely speculation.
There’s also been some talk of Microsoft getting yet another new Xbox One S model ready, and this one will apparently have disc drive. This second model would be scheduled to release after the disc-less model, again some time in 2019.
We haven’t heard anything more concrete on this mystery second model yet, so take it with a pinch of salt.
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Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.