Xbox kills physical media with its new Series X — for real this time

polygon.com:

It was just over 10 years ago that Microsoft’s gaming division — then led by Don Mattrick, an executive who sometimes seemed like he’d been replaced by a malfunctioning automaton — first revealed the Xbox One to the world, and explained that it heralded an all-digital future in which users would buy game licenses rather than games. (Even if they bought them on disc!) The policy was vilified by fans, excoriated by the press — “Microsoft kills game ownership and expects us to smile,” wrote my old boss at Eurogamer in one pitiless takedown — and openly mocked by Sony on a live E3 stage in perhaps the most devastating, and certainly the most memorable, finishing move of the console wars.

Humiliated, Xbox reversed its decision, but the reputational damage was done, and Xbox One’s fortunes were irreparably damaged. (Its underwhelming technical performance and botched multimedia strategy had something to do with it, too.) Soon, Mattrick was gone, replaced by the much more personable Phil Spencer, and Spencer — whose every utterance put gamers first — set about rebuilding trust in the Xbox brand and innovating its business model in other ways. And generally, he’s done a pretty good job at that.

But Mattrick wasn’t wrong. He had seen the future, it’s just that his timing was off — and apparently, Spencer knew it. That much is evident from leaked plans for a mid-generation refresh of the Xbox console range, which includes a redesigned, “all-digital” Xbox Series X with no disc drive. Its sister console, the Series S, is already a digital-only device. (Sony also makes a digital-only PlayStation 5.) So if Microsoft’s plan to replace the existing Xbox Series models in late 2024 comes to fruition, Xbox will be the first console