After months of leaks, speculation and rumor, Microsoft has finally announced the Xbox One S All Digital Edition, which drops the disk drive and cuts costs to make the system one of the more affordable Xbox One consoles ever made.
The Xbox One S is being pushed as promoting "Disc free gaming," and will come in a bundle with three popular titles right out of the gate: Minecraft, Sea of Thieves, and Forza Horizon 3. However, Microsoft is also using it to push its Xbox Game Pass, which gives access to a further 100 games for a monthly fee. The All Digital console will get 14 days to try out the feature for free, which Microsoft no doubt hopes will lead to a number of early adopters jumping on board with that ongoing subscription service.
All of this comes at $50 less than the standard Xbox One S, with a $250 starting price — which could be a major selling point in itself, especially if you have good internet and don't mind the idea of ditching a disc drive. That will mean removing some backwards compatibility with games that aren't easily available on the Xbox Store and the ability to play 4K Blu Rays. However, Microsoft is keen to point out that 4K HDR content is still available via streaming services like Netflix and Amazon video.
The Xbox One S All Digital edition is set to go on sale on May 7, but you can pre-order one now if you want to be one of the first to adopt the new system. It will ship with the latest Xbox April update that will include a new virtual keyboard option for quicker typing with a controller, a tidy up option that helps free up storage space, and better access to Game Pass quest progress, as per Hexus.
