Digital-only Xbox Series X reportedly launching “June or July” this year

Microsoft is reportedly preparing to launch a new white, digital-only version of its top-end Xbox Series X console in “June or July” this year.

An “adorably all-digital” Xbox Series X refresh, planned for a 2024 release, first surfaced as part of a mammoth leak of official Microsoft documentation during last year's court battle with the FTC. However, Xbox boss Phil Spencer later insisted “so much has changed” since the plans detailed in the leak had been drawn up, leaving the all-digital console's future uncertain.

But now, reliable leaker eXtas1s (writing for Exuter) has claimed that not only are Microsoft's all-digital Xbox Series

According to eXtas1s, not only will this new digital-only Xbox Series X jettison the optical disc drive of the original mode, it'll feature an improved heatsink and upgraded Nexus card. It's also claimed the revision will be white in an inversion of the current Series X color scheme – but it sounds like the console's existing form factor will remain the same.

Last year's leak pointed to an all-digital Xbox Series mentions none of those, suggesting this is a far less wide-ranging review.

That earlier design prompted fears Microsoft could be gearing up to ditch physical media altogether – a concern only compounded when it was reported the company's 1,900 layoffs in January had hit its games retail teams particularly hard. Addressing those concerns, Phil Spencer recently insisted Microsoft remained “supportive of physical media”, but that Xbox's job was to “deliver on the things that a majority of the customers want. And right now, a majority of our customers are buying games digitally. ”

Of course, today's report of a new digital-only Xbox Series X release this summer doesn't mean much until Microsoft makes any such console official. interestingly though, the company did recently confirmed it would have more Xbox hardware news to share this year – although the suggestion was nothing would be revealed until this “holiday” season, a timeframe which obviously doesn't align with a possible June-July console refresh release window.

That announcement arrived alongside confirmation Microsoft would, as heavily rumored, be releasing four previously Xbox-exclusive first-party games – now known to be Sea of ​​Thieves, Pentiment, Grounded, and Hi-Fi Rush – across PlayStation 5 and Switch this year. It also teased that work on its next Xbox was already underway – a move presumably intended to assuage fan fears it might be considering abandoning the console market following its multiplatform news – insisting that it would deliver “the largest technical leap…ever seen in a hardware generation.”