Microsoft considered releasing Xbox One without a disc drive following E3 2013

The Xbox One is capable of reading Blu-ray games and movies, but it nearly launched without the capability to play discs at all.

Microsoft was considering launching its next-gen console without a disc drive as late as the weeks following the Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show in early June, according to an Official Xbox Magazine interview with Microsoft Studios boss Phil Spencer. The company felt that the absence of physical media would make the console a better fit for the digital content Microsoft is focusing on with Xbox One.