Xbox S: Embracing a Disc-Free Future

The Xbox Series S represents a curious value-based form of digital gaming. And with its popularity, you might find it strange that Microsoft hasn’t provided any form of disc support. But with Microsoft seemingly patenting a disc drive accessory for the Series S, the question only gets more perplexing.

Yet Microsoft shows no signs of ever releasing a disc drive-supported Series S. So if you’re wondering whether the Xbox Series S could get disc support, let’s look at some of the reasons it’s unlikely.

1. Xbox Series X Sales Could Be Affected

One of the more blatant reasons Microsoft would be disinterested in providing a disc drive for the Series S is because it may detract from the overall sales of Xbox Series X consoles.

When comparing the Xbox Series S to the Xbox Series X , numerous unique properties from both consoles could encourage you to favor one Xbox over the other, whether through price point, power, or storage. But one of the best-selling points for the Series X is its disc drive.

While the Series S may be the cheaper console, you would have to be dedicated to digital-only gaming to commit to purchasing one over the Series X. But if Microsoft were to remove that obstacle from the Series S, it would pull you away from spending more money on the Series X in favor of the cheaper Series S.

While a disc drive-supported Xbox Series S would be hugely beneficial to you and other consumers, for Microsoft it could be a risky move that disturbs the main selling points of its flagship console. After all, if the Xbox Series S remained cheaper but supported discs, the reasons to get an Xbox Series X would narrow.

2. Keeping the Xbox Series S Digital-Only Guarantees Store Sales

A less obvious sales reason the Xbox Series S is unlikely to get disc drive support is because of the console’s heavy reliance on the Microsoft Store.

Because all versions of the Xbox Series S are digital only, the way you would purchase games for your console would be through the Microsoft Store. The only caveat is if you buy games from sites that sell digital codes.

So for Microsoft, having more owners of digital-only consoles almost guarantees more users of the Microsoft Store, and retains purchases within Microsoft-owned sites, stores, and products. By association, if an external disc drive or disc drive-supported Series S were available, Microsoft would lose this guarantee.

That being said, digital store processes are just one of many things to consider when purchasing a digital-only console , and you may even find some digital sales far better than physical ones. But the likelihood of Xbox releasing a disc drive-supported Xbox Series S becomes less likely with the effects on the Microsoft Store.

3. External Disc Readers Are Disabled on Xbox Series S

Aside from sales, reasons the Xbox Series S won’t get disc drive support also extend to the hardware and functionality of the console itself. And with all forms of disc readers incompatible with Xbox Series S, it’s also unlikely that any third-party accessory would be able to enable disc support.

However, as reported by Game Rant , Microsoft put forward a patent for how disc drive support could be implemented for the Xbox Series S. While non-specific, the patent implied that you could validate your physical games to make them available on your digital-only console.

Curiously, the patent inferred that to verify your physical games for digital use, you would use an external disc drive to scan physical games. So it would seem that even with external disc drive support, the Series S is incapable of playing game discs, and instead can only validate and play them as digital versions.

So while external disc drive support isn’t completely out of the question for Xbox Series S, you’ll have to wait for Microsoft to create its own external disc drive. And, even then, you won’t be able to play your physical discs and will use the disc drive for verification only—if the patent is to be believed.

4. A Disc Drive-Supported Xbox Series S Would Increase Costs

Regardless of how disc drive support would be implemented into Xbox Series S consoles, if Microsoft were to create a disc drive-supported version, or if they were to release an official disc reader accessory as its patent suggests, costs would increase.

When it was released,the Xbox Series S set a new standard for budget gaming . But if Microsoft were to make a more premium Series S with a disc drive, it wouldn’t just interfere in Series X sales, but it would also change the image of the Series S.

Whether through a higher-priced Series S, or an external drive accessory, the price of Series S budget gaming would rise. And even if Series S prices remained lower than the Xbox Series X, but still increased, you may find yourself seeing the best budget Xbox console less favorably.

The Xbox Series S Is a Great Budget Console Even Without Disc Support

As unlikely as a disc drive-supported Xbox Series S is, Microsoft’s patent at least implies that you still may be able to make use of physical games through validation and play them on the console.

But even so, the Xbox Series S remains an amazing console within its price range, and if you were to never see disc drive support, the prevalence of digital gaming against physical is only continuing to grow. So if you were to see disc drives for Series S consoles, they may be less relevant or too pricey for the Series S.

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Xbox S: Embracing a Disc-Free Future