Microsoft admits that disc-less Xbox One was seriously considered

A disc-less Xbox One was at one stage very much a possibility.

That’s the admission from Microsoft Studios boss Phil Spencer, who told OXM that a real discussion” took place regarding whether the company could get away” with a purely digital-only machine.

The decision to stick with discs was made as late as mid 2013.

MCV revealed in March 2012 that Microsoft was planning to drop discs from its new machine, although by the following year reports had emerged claiming that the plans had been abandoned, all of which fits in with Spencer’s timeline.

"Obviously, after the announcement and E3, there was some feedback about what people wanted to change," Spencer said.

"There was a real discussion about whether we should have an optical disc drive in Xbox One or if we could get away with a purely disc-less console, but when you start looking at bandwidth and game size, it does create issues.

"So we decided – which I think was the right decision – to go with the Blu-ray drive and give the people an easy way to install a lot of content. From some of those original thoughts, you saw a lot of us really focusing on the digital ecosystem you see on other devices – thinking of and building around that."