Tell me if this sounds familiar, Microsoft is going to ship an Xbox One S without a disc drive? That’s the information that I reported back in November and others are now starting to hear the same.

Specifically, Jez Corden is hearing that in April, Microsoft will announce the Xbox Maverick console and that it will be called the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition. Further, he is hearing early May availability, and I have previously heard that it is likely May 7th, or around that date.

Additionally, Jez is also hearing about the Fortnite console is coming too that I reported on back in January as well. Look for a purple colored Xbox from Microsoft that likely follows a branded boxes like the Minecraft or Gears of War devices.

The one thing that has not been confirmed by others, but I am confident that has been in development, is the disc-to-digital program where you can trade in your console disc to receive a digital entitlement for a game that you already own. This program is a requirement for the new disc-less console otherwise current Xbox gamers would not be able to use their old physical games with the new console.

I expect the disc-to-digital program to spin up right around the same time as the console is released, or possibly a bit earlier, with the trade-in locations being the Microsoft Store, Best Buy, and possibly more. As you can imagine, not everyone is happy with the idea of a disc-less future, especially retailers, but you can either fight the future or adapt to the new market realities.

As we march towards the Game Developer conference in the next couple of weeks and E3 in June, Microsoft is preparing to make a significant number of gaming announcements.

Tagged with Maverick, Xbox, Xbox One, Xbox One S All Digital Edition