Xbox Is "Supportive Of Physical Media", Says Phil Spencer

thegamer.com:

Last year, an all-digital Xbox Series X leaked via FTC court documents, which many fans worried was another hint towards an all-digital future. It's a concerning precedent because the Xbox 360 digital storefront is shutting down in July, meaning that physical media is the only way to get games for the platform going forward. If something similar happened to an all-digital generation down the line, it'd be a huge blow to preservation.

Adding fuel to the fire, a report surfaced last month claiming that Xbox shut down its physical division as part of its mass layoffs. However, speaking to Game File reporter Stephen Totilo, Xbox boss Phil Spencer stressed that he's "supportive of physical media".

We are supportive of physical media, but we don't have a need to drive that disproportionate to customer demand.

"We ship games physically and digitally, and we're really just following what the customers are doing," Spencer said. "And I think our job in running Xbox is to deliver on the things that a majority of the customers want. And right now, a majority of our customers are buying games digitally."

Spencer also pointed out that Xbox already has a digital-only console without a disc drive in the Series S, a new norm for this generation as the PlayStation 5 likewise has a digital-only variant.

He also added that gaming consoles are one of the "last consumer electronic [devices] that [have] a drive", which has impacted the manufacturing costs. But that doesn't mean Xbox plans to abandon disc drives altogether.

"I will say our strategy does not hinge on people moving all-digital," Spencer said. "And getting rid of physical, that's not a strategic thing for us."

Spencer did not comment on the leaked digital-only Series X, codenamed "Brooklin", however. According to the leaked FTC documents, it will be the same price as the standard Series X, unlike the digital-only PS5 which is cheaper than the normal version. However, it will have "more internal storage, faster Wi-Fi, reduced