The "all digital future" may be closer than you think if a new rumor is to be believed. According to Brad Sams from Thurrott.com, Microsoft is getting ready to release an Xbox One S console that doesn't have a disc drive.

Sams says that the internal codename for this device is "Xbox Maverick" with the public facing name being "Xbox One S All-Digital Edition." Pre-orders are apparently slated to go live mid-April with a release possibly coming as early as May.

Beyond being able to purchase games directly through the Microsoft Store for this Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, there are other services available now or soon on the Xbox platform. These include the Xbox Game Pass subscription service that offers a large selection of games for the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs. Game Pass allows you to download these games directly to your local drive and play them from there so long as your subscription is active.

Plus, Microsoft is readying the release of their Project xCloud service that will let you stream games to your console. This should, theoretically, work similar to services such as PlayStation Now or GeForce Now.

Sams continues on to say that Microsoft is looking at a "disc-to-digital" program. According to him, this will allow you to go to participating retailers, trade in your physical disc, and get a digital download code in return.


I'm willing to trust Sams on this one because his track record with Microsoft related leaks has been rather solid thus far. He was the one who leaked the Xbox One X visual ahead of the initial reveal. He has leaked various details about the Xbox One X ahead of launch. He also leaked a few details that later materialized as Microsoft's Play Anywhere program. In addition, he leaked the reveal of Halo Infinite ahead of E3 2018.

Sams has also said that Xbox Game Pass is, in fact, not coming to the Nintendo Switch, at least in the short term. This directly contradicts statements issued by Jeuxvideo that said Microsoft was going to release Xbox Game Pass on the Nintendo platform.