Microsoft is stopping production of the Xbox One X and Xbox One S All-Digital Edition consoles, it told The Verge today. It will continue to produce the standard Xbox One S. The news comes after many would-be Xbox owners have had trouble finding the consoles at stores.
“As we ramp into the future with Xbox Series X, we’re taking the natural step of stopping production on Xbox One X and Xbox One S All-Digital Edition,” a company spokesperson told The Verge. “Xbox One S will continue to be manufactured and sold globally.”
The Xbox One X was released in 2017, and the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition was released just last year, in May.
It’s debatable just how “natural” this step is. Ending production on consoles is a normal part of the console cycle, but this feels extremely early. For starters, the Xbox Series X isn’t even out yet. Even stranger is the decision to stop producing the more-powerful Xbox One X while leaving the low-end Xbox One S on shelves, but not the lower-end All-Digital Edition.
Reports of players having trouble finding and buying new Xbox One X consoles had been floating around for a few weeks. This would seem to be the fault of supply-demand imbalances caused by the global pandemic, which is both affecting supply lines and driving up video game sales across the world as people remain stuck inside. But now, the shortage of the Xbox One X in particular could also be partially chalked up to the fact that Microsoft doesn’t want to make any more of them.
While Microsoft has not officially announced anything, reports have long indicated that it also plans to release a cheaper, disc-less version of Xbox Series X, which could also be a factor here.
These consoles are not being pulled from stores, so if you want an Xbox One X and you do see one on the shelf, it’s time to grab it. Otherwise, it looks like Microsoft wants you to wait for the new consoles.
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