An all-digital future isn’t surprising in the slightest coming from Microsoft, although 2024 is much sooner than most would anticipate it. I guess we might see a detachable disc drive, but if there is one, it would surely not be bundled with the console.
Their business model is clearly centered around Game Pass nowadays, physical media sales must have slowed down significantly over the last few years (they also have significantly fewer limited run releases than Nintendo/Sony) and they have decided to forgo using larger size Blu-Rays to accommodate for full games on disc anyways.
As a fervent supporter of physical media (because you can get deals outside of just the one monopoly / digital store, you can buy used or you can loan/borrow games, or even get backwards compatible games that are not available digitally), this is another “slap in the face”, but again I kind of expected it, sooner or later, coming from Microsoft.
An all-digital future isn’t surprising in the slightest coming from Microsoft, although 2024 is much sooner than most would anticipate it. I guess we might see a detachable disc drive, but if there is one, it would surely not be bundled with the console.
Their business model is clearly centered around Game Pass nowadays, physical media sales must have slowed down significantly over the last few years (they also have significantly fewer limited run releases than Nintendo/Sony) and they have decided to forgo using larger size Blu-Rays to accommodate for full games on disc anyways.
As a fervent supporter of physical media (because you can get deals outside of just the one monopoly / digital store, you can buy used or you can loan/borrow games, or even get backwards compatible games that are not available digitally), this is another “slap in the face”, but again I kind of expected it, sooner or later, coming from Microsoft.