After months of rumors, it appears that a disc-less Xbox One S all-digital console is coming out soon. The rumors kept coming for months about a new console appearing without a disc tray and utilizing the Xbox Game Pass service. The rumors codenamed the new console Project Maverick, but Microsoft has reportedly now changed the name to Xbox One S All-Digital.
The new console is expected to have the same components of the current Xbox One S (except, of course, this new console will be disc-less). The major draw to Project Maverick is Microsoft’s expected price for the console. The price of the Project Maverick is estimated to be somewhere around $200 USD. This attractive price is set to get more Xbox consoles into the homes where there aren’t any currently. The price, most likely, would be reflecting the cost minus that of a Blu-Ray disc tray. The current price of the Xbox One S with the disc tray is $299 USD.
The expectation for this new console is for players to be using the Xbox Store, and more specifically Xbox Game Pass, to download their games digitally. The new all-digital Xbox One S is expected to be released in May of this year. This is right before their expected E3 presentation, which happens in June.
For months, Microsoft has been rumored to unveil (on top of their all-digital console) a superpowered console codenamed Project Scarlett. Project Scarlett is Microsoft’s newest unannounced console in development. It’s rumored to be revealed at their E3 presentation this year. But, with the announcement of their development of the Xbox One S All Digital console, will non-Xbox gamers be just as excited to purchase the Xbox Scarlett?
With all the attention on a cheaper all-digital console to get into gamers’ homes, the want for a bigger, more powerful console may not be the best thing to have right after this announcement. We won’t know what Microsoft is planning with Project Scarlett until they reveal more information, hopefully at E3 2019.
