The previously leaked discless Xbox One SKU, codenamed Xbox One Maverick, will apparently be launching in May, with pre-orders set to begin for it in mid-April, according to a report by Windows Central. The SKU will be called Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, and will have a “near simultaneous” launch globally.
A disc-less SKU would presumably allow Microsoft to keep costs lower, and sell the console for a cheaper entry price, while also earn more money in revenues via digital sales and subscriptions, which would be the only way to play games on it. It remains to be seen if retailers would be on board with stocking such a system, however, because margins on hardware are thin, and retailers usually look to software to make up money for that, and this takes away their ability to sell software.
For now, this is just a rumor, but we’ll know in a few weeks how much truth there is to it anyway.
