With this potential move, the Redmond-based company might pull off the console that they initially planned for the Xbox One!

Thurrott, which is specialised on Microsoft, thus making it a reliable site, reports that by Spring 2019, Microsoft is planning to release an Xbox One model that will lack a Blu-ray drive. They are also rumoured to start a program where select retailers would take the players’ discs and hand out download codes for them instead (possibly in the US only…). This Xbox One model might get the attention with its price: it would be maximum 200 dollars! (Also, Microsoft is planning to update the Xbox One S SKU in 2019, but since consoles tend to get updated annually, that’s not important.)

Thurrott emphasises that the Blu-ray driveless Xbox One wouldn’t be the „Scarlett” family’s member – this group of consoles is rumoured to launch in 2020. One model would be a traditional console, and the other one would be a streaming console. (And Microsoft hasn’t decided yet whether the first one would use a Blu-ray drive or not…)

However, let’s think about how Microsoft announced the Xbox One in 2013! They planned to have a console with no disc drive, and it would have also required a constant Internet connection – hmmm… aren’t we seeing the same things with the Blu-ray-less Xbox One model? (Also, let’s not forget that Sony helped create the Blu-ray – Microsoft doesn’t want to pay the fees to its rival…)

Source: Gematsu