the release of a white, disc-less Xbox Series X and the introduction of other stores on the console

Microsoft recently announced that it will be bringing some of its games that were previously only available on Xbox and PC to other consoles, but Phil Spencer doesn’t want to stop there. In an interview with Polygon, the CEO of Microsoft’s gaming division said that he would like to “break down” the historical barriers that limited gamers from buying titles from any source other than first-party stores. on consoles. In other words, they would like users to be able to buy games from other stores as well, such as the Epic Games Store, not just from the official Xbox store.

Spencer explained how previously console manufacturers subsidized the cost of more expensive hardware, knowing that a portion of every dollar spent on games on the platform would come back to them. Thus, over time, the producer recovered his money and could also make a profit. But according to Spencer, this is no longer the case. “The price of the components of a console is no longer falling as quickly as in previous generations,” he said, explaining that the console market is no longer growing, with many gamers making the jump to PC or even handheld options.

“Subsidizing hardware is getting harder and harder these days. And I don’t know if it helps grow the industry anymore. So, I wonder, what are the barriers? And how can we open them?” Spencer added. He also explained that the experience of a game suffers when it matters which consoles we play on or which stores sell our games. As an example, he used Sea of ​​Thieves, which he said a player shouldn’t worry about what hardware he or his friends have. They should just ask if they have the game and want to play with it.

The console market is indeed in a period of stagnation, especially for Microsoft, which seems to be preparing a special launch in this very area. We knew that the Redmond giant was planning a discless version of the Xbox Series X, which was originally supposed to look like a cylinder, but it looks like this will be just like the current Series X, only white. Exputer has published a series of leaked images that show a white Xbox Series X, the same shade as the company’s Series S. It will, however, have slightly better internals than the current generation Series X, including better cooling.

According to Exputer, this version of the Xbox Series X would be released in June or July, priced $50-$100 less than the black version with disc. The cylindrical version that Microsoft originally planned was revealed thanks to documents from the FTC vs. Microsoft lawsuit last year.