After numerous leaks, the Xbox One S All-Digital is here. Microsoft officially unveiled the console at their Inside Xbox conference, confirming all the leaks to be true from what we reported earlier. The Xbox One S All-Digital will, as clear from the name, come without a Blu-ray disk drive and will cost $249.
Other than that, the console is virtually the same as the retail Xbox One S that’s available to purchase right now for $299. While we knew that omitting the Blu-ray drive would reduce the cost, the $50 difference really doesn’t make much of a difference. When you consider the prices for which the One S disk-version is going on sale for on sites like Amazon (for as low as $200), the digital version doesn’t really make much sense to purchase.
“The Xbox One S All-Digital Edition is $50 less than Xbox One S and we expect to maintain at least this price difference between the two consoles…We think of the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition as an option that caters to audiences who prefer to find and play their games digitally. We’re not looking to push customers toward digital. It’s about meeting the needs of customers that are digital natives that prefer digital-based media and providing value with the most affordable Xbox One console.”
Jeff Gattis, general manager of Xbox
However, the launch of the All-Digital edition is more of a statement that Microsoft is making to push the move to digital space for gaming. The company recently announced their plans for xCloud, their proprietary online subscription service, which will allow players to stream games. This is no surprise, as other companies like Sony and Google have also revealed their plans for online gaming for the next generation consoles.
The console will come with a 1TB standard HDD and will be bundled with games such as Forza Horizon 3, Minecraft & Sea of Thieves.
The All-Digital edition is clearly Microsoft’s testing ground to see how many people are willing to adopt fully online gaming. The company also launched the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate plan which will combine the existing Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass service for $14.99/month.
The Xbox One S All-Digital Edition will launch on May 7th. You can pre-order the console here.