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Console gaming is more complicated than it used to be. Fourth dimension was, you'd slam a new disc or cartridge in your automobile, and you'd be playing in moments. Today, nigh games y'all purchase on disc accept big patches to download and online features to fix, so why non do abroad with the discs entirely? Microsoft is reportedly planning to practise merely that. The future disc-less Xbox One could be the most affordable yet, but there are naturally some drawbacks.

According to a new study, the disc-less Xbox is due next year, and it's split from the next-gen console. The new console is expected in 2020, and there'south no word on whether that one will have a disc drive. Since the updated console won't have a drive for discs, y'all'll only exist able to buy digital downloads to play on it.

Losing the disc bulldoze is not necessarily a problem for someone simply getting into the XboxSEEAMAZON_ET_135 See Amazon ET commerce ecosystem — virtually everything is available as a digital download. However, anyone who already has some games would need to take reward of Microsoft's rumored "disc to digital" service. Gamers could take their existing discs into a Microsoft store or some other authorized retailer to make the trade. You'd manus over your physical disc and get a download code in return.

This would be a significant shift for Microsoft's Xbox partitioning, and many will complain about the added fourth dimension it takes to download everything. And so, why bother with this? Microsoft will supposedly be able to drib the cost of the console considerably by ditching the Blu-ray drive. Currently, the base model Xbox One costs around $299 when it'south non on auction. Microsoft believes it can trim $100 off the toll, getting in just under $200. That's a very attractive price for a total-featured game panel. Information technology's just the sort of affair that keeps a panel going in its twilight years.

The success or failure of this idea may influence the concluding design of the future Xbox console, currently codenamed Scarlett. Microsoft is notwithstanding trying to decide if that panel will have a Blu-ray drive at all. If the launch of the disc-less Xbox One goes well, Scarlett may launch without a drive every bit well. Nosotros might run into the updated Xbox One as soon every bit leap of 2019. A second cheaper Xbox may launch later on next year, but this one would still have a disc bulldoze.

Now read: Microsoft Acquires Game Devs Obsidian and InXile to Bolster Xbox, Microsoft Expands Gaming Empire, Bringing Xbox Game Pass to PC Players, and Microsoft Announces 'Xbox All Access' Plans to Finance a Console Over Two Years