Rumor: Microsoft will release Xbox One version without disc tray from May

Microsoft is reportedly going to release a new Xbox One version in May this year that lacks the traditional disc tray. There were already rumors about the arrival of such a version of the Xbox One.

The Windows Central website reports that it has learned from its own sources that the Xbox One console without a disc tray will be called “Xbox One S All-Digital Edition,” codenamed Maverick. This new version would be available from the beginning of May. It seems that the new console will be released almost all over the world at the same time, according to Windows Central. Any pre-orders could be placed from April.

Microsoft has not yet officially confirmed the arrival of such an Xbox One console without a disc tray. Brad Sams of the Thurott website first reported in November last year that he had heard from multiple sources that Microsoft will release an updated console without a disc drive in 2019.

Sams said at the time that it was a current-generation Xbox One, something that is confirmed by the name mentioned by Windows Central, which contains “Xbox One S”. Microsoft may release this console to further reduce costs; omitting the disc tray might reduce that cost by up to $100 per copy.

This Xbox One console without a disc tray would therefore still be of the current generation and is separate from the future Xbox console, which may be released in 2020. This project of the new Xbox would be codenamed Scarlett and would involve two consoles: a regular version that performs the calculations locally and a cheaper box that uses Microsoft’s new game streaming service, called Project xCloud.