Xbox One X and Xbox One S All-Digital discontinued ahead of Xbox Series X release
The end of the road for these Xbox One consoles
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TheXbox One XandXbox One S All-Digital Editionhave been discontinued ahead of theXbox Series Xrelease later this year,Microsofthas confirmed.
Rumors that Xbox One consoles were being discontinued emerged last week when aReddit postby an alleged Target employee claimed the company’s internal database was listing both theXbox One Sand Xbox One X as being discontinued.
A more recent report byPressStartclaims that sources at both EB Games and JB Hi-Fi told the Australian publication that they aren’t expecting any more stock of the Xbox One X, with the console being deleted from their systems, and instead offering the Xbox One S and upcoming Xbox Series X.
It also appears thatAmazonis showing either “limited stock”, “currently unavailable” and, in some cases,discontinuedunder many of its Xbox One X listings, while theMicrosoft Storeis showing its Xbox One X console listings as “sold out”.
Now, Microsoft has confirmed these reports and put out the following statement: “Aswe ramp into the future with Xbox Series X, we’re 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.”
Just the Xbox One S?
While initial rumors claimed the Xbox One S was also being discontinued, too, a Microsoft spokesperson on Twitter has confirmed that the Xbox One S is “still very much available” and explained that the “discontinued” listings were down to a change in SKU numbers (viaPure Xbox).
Xbox One S is very much still available, we just changed SKU numbers. Amazon is just messy in how they show products.July 4, 2020
The Xbox One S is Microsoft’s lower-cost console and is capable of4Koutput, but does not play games in native 4K, according to ourXbox One S review.
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An odd move
It could be that Microsoft is discontinuing its older Xbox consoles to encourage players to upgrade to the Xbox Series X – or perhaps needs to set aside some common parts for the next generation of consoles.
However, typically companies discontinue their older consoles a couple of years into the new consoles life-cycle, so we would expect Microsoft to continue production of the Xbox One X until around 2022. That, apparently, won’t be happening.
In addition, Microsoft has prided itself on not leaving Xbox One gamers behind when the Xbox Series X arrives, with Smart Delivery and no Xbox Series X exclusives aiming to ensure Xbox One players aren’t locked out of the next-gen experience – which now feels a bit confusing considering Microsoft is cutting off the Xbox One X from production.
We might hear more about Microsoft’s decision at its upcoming Summer Showcase event on July 23, but the company has already said on Twitter that we shouldn’t expect big hardware news concerning the Xbox Series X or rumoredXbox Series S.
An award-winning games journalist, with seven years of experience in games journalism and a degree in journalism from City University, London, Vic brings experience from IGN, Eurogamer, The Telegraph, VG247, Dot Esports and more to the TechRadar table. You may have even heard her on the radio or speaking on a panel, as she’s previously appeared on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5, BBC Radio Ulster and more. Not only is Vic passionate about games, but she’s appeared on both panels and podcasts to discuss mental health awareness. Make sure to follow her on Twitter for more.
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