This week, Microsoft revealed that it will no longer do the Xbox One X or Xbox One S digital edition. Instead, it will focus on the Xbox Series X, its new baby, although it will continue to sell the standard Xbox One S for the foreseeable future.
In a statement to The Verge, a spokesperson said “As we move into the future with Xbox Series X, we are taking the natural step of stopping production on Xbox One X and Xbox One S All-Digital Edition. Xbox One S will continue to be manufactured and sold globally. “News of the shortage of consoles, including the One X, has been going around since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and suspending them will likely lead to a run that is still they are on the store shelves.
This seems like a strange move for Microsoft, given its stance on the next generation transition. Microsoft has done a great job of making the X Series non-essential to the Xbox gaming ecosystem after launch. In other words, since it won’t have launch exclusives and is designed to allow you to buy only next-gen games once, even if you play them on current consoles, it seems to be implying that the transition would be gradual. This contrasts with Sony’s “Buy our new console or you can’t play our newest games” approach. Both approaches are valid, but until now we thought we knew which one each company was taking.
As for why you’re stopping production on consoles, there are likely different reasons for each. A persistent industry rumor says Xbox plans to unveil a second “Xbox Series” console, a fully digital version called “Lockhart.” If true, it would be easy to see why the company would want to replace the One S digital edition (which has only been on the market for a year) with a new digital-only console.
Regarding the Xbox One X, the reasons for stopping production are perhaps a little less substantive. If I can speculate, it could be because the One X’s Reason to be is to be a more powerful Xbox One, the most powerful console on the market, a claim to fame that will be debatable as soon as the X Series and the PlayStation 5 hit the market. This could also help improve Lockhart’s profile, as the second console would likely be at a power level comparable to the One X, and there is no need to muddy the waters.
If these reasons are near the mark, it’s actually a good strategy on Microsoft’s part: keep the Xbox One S on the market just to tell it that it did, but make sure there is no real competition for the new generation of hotness. If gamers want a diskless Xbox, there’s Lockhart. If you want the really powerful console, there’s the X Series.
Of course, there could be a practical reason why Microsoft might not want to make four (possibly five) consoles at once: With the pandemic reducing resources, Microsoft probably wants to put everything it has in its new generation. Either way, if you really wanted to own an Xbox One X or a digital One S, now is your chance to go out and get one.
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