Microsoft has announced that it's officially ending production of all Xbox One X and Xbox One S All-Digital Edition consoles. The (somewhat surprising) move comes as the company prepares to release the next-gen Xbox Series X this holiday season.
"As we 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," Microsoft said in a statement. "Xbox One S will continue to be manufactured and sold globally. Gamers can check with their local retailers for more details on Xbox One hardware availability."
Microsoft announced the Xbox One X back in November 2017, billing it as "the world's most powerful console." To be fair, the console was - and still is - the most powerful current-gen home console on the market, and is able to run a number of titles with enhancements such as faster loading times, 4K resolution, and higher frame rates. The first time I saw The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt running at 60fps on the hardware was something of a game-changer.
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The Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, meanwhile, was released in April last year as the most affordable option for prospective customers. A disc-less version of the Xbox One S, this bit of kit ended up doing pretty well thanks to a series of smart bundles that included access to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and, by extension, a massive library of games.
While the customers will still be able to get their hands on the Xbox One S, Microsoft's decision to discontinue two of its models seems slightly at odds with recent comments from Xbox boss Phil Spencer in regards to accessibility and platform exclusives... as well as the confirmation that the vast majority of Xbox Series X games will also be available on Xbox One and PC, for at least the first few years.
"As a player, you are the centre of our strategy," Spencer said in a recent interview with Gamesindustry.biz, "Our device is not the centre of our strategy, our game is not the centre of the strategy. We want to enable you to play the games you want to play, with the friends you want to play with, on any device.
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"Gaming is about entertainment and community and diversion and learning new stories and new perspectives, And I find it completely counter to what gaming is about to say that part of that is to lock people away from being able to experience those games.
"Gaming is bigger than any one device, and that is something as an industry that we've embraced all up as we bring more and more players in. I think it's vital to the role that gaming can play on the planet."
Of course, with the rumours that Microsoft is planning to release yet another next-gen Xbox alongside the Series X, it does make sense for Microsoft to take two of the Xbox One models out of the running. At a certain point, people are just going to get confused.
Featured Image Credit: XboxTopics: Xbox Series X