Xbox Scarlett Will Have A Disc Drive

A big part of the future of gaming on Xbox is streaming, which also means a big part of the future of Xbox is digital gaming, which in turn begs the question: how much longer will discs be around? Well, who knows, but they will at least be around for the next Xbox console generation, as Xbox boss Phil Spencer has confirmed Xbox Scarlett will have a disc drive. “Yeah [physical discs are part of our future],” said Spencer while speaking to Games Industry. That said, Spencer and co. are well aware the market is moving to the digital space.

“We know, because we see it, that more and more players are buying digital,” added Spencer. “We think the experience in certain instances — specifically if I am away from my console and everything is on my hard-drive with the entitlements are all there, there are some scenarios that are easy. But we know that people still have discs.”

As you can see, Spencer seems to more or less suggest discs are increasingly fading out, which is true; the retail video game market is shrinking fast as the digital market grows, but for now, there’s still plenty of people buying Xbox games on discs who can’t be forgotten.

Spencer continued by noting that Xbox is doing its best to make sure the marketing around current and future Xbox systems is clear when it comes to this. For example, the reason the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition is called what it is, is not because that’s the name marketing came up with to push the most units, but because it’s the most straight-forward and conveys what the system is.

“I want to be very descriptive, because I am not trying to confuse anybody about what the options are,” said Spencer. “I want to give people choice, and right now physical is a choice that millions of people love.”

The retail market for games is still pretty large, so it’s no surprise the next Xbox has a disc drive, but it’s good to get the confirmation, especially as the messaging around the next Xbox increasingly incorporates streaming.

For those that missed it, Sony Interactive Entertainment also has confirmed the PS5 will take discs. In other words, disc-based console gaming isn’t going anywhere next-generation.